Twist of Fate
by Sierra156
Summary: Max and the flock are living with Dr Martinez. Max and Fang find themselves in huge trouble- can they live through it?
1. I Blame Iggy

**This doesn't really come after or before any of the books, it just happens. Max, Fang, and Iggy are all seventeen, Nudge is fourteen, Gazzy is twelve, and Angel is nine. They live in a safe house out in the desert in Nevada… So whatever… Enjoy the Faxness...**

**Disclaimer:**

**Fang: Say it. _Now._**

**Me: Do I have to?**

**Max: YES.**

**Me: Fine… *sighs heavily* IDON'TOWNMAXIMUMRIDE! THERE! I SAID IT! Happy now?**

**Fang: No. Quit writing fake stories about us.**

**Me. Never! Now shut up before I make you do something in the story you'll regret and Max will kick your ass for. *EVIL LAUGH***

Chapter One

"I'm so freakin' _sick _of freakin' _Iggy _and his freakin_ JOKES!" _I shouted into the night. "Oh... oops."

Beside me, Fang was covering his ears with his hands and wincing. "And now I'm sorry too," he grumbled. I laughed at his pain. _Shut up, Max, you friggin' sadist, _I thought to myself.

After Iggy had made yet _another _sex joke about Fang and I, I finally cracked and flew out to the desert to vent on some rock or something... But as Fang had followed me out, I had him to let out all my pissed-at-Iggy-ness to. Not physically. He was too good of a kisser for me to punch him in the face. "They do get pretty damn annoying," Fang said quietly. "Especially when they're in front of the little kids." There was an awkward pause after that. Iggy had been making the sex jokes about me and Fang (again, in front of_ Angel_, Nudge, Gazzy, and my _mother_ of all people!) since he caught us making out the other day... And Fang was all shirtless... But seriously, we hadn't been _doing _anything. That time, at least.

I groaned, just thinking about the teasing there would be if he ever caught us actually... Well, you know... and Fang took my face in his hands. "I bet I can distract you," he whispered softly. I was suddenly dizzy. Damn- I'd been about to suggest that we go kick Ig's skinny white ass... but maybe that could wait.

And then his mouth was on mine, and my mind was wiped of all thoughts of ass-kicking. When we broke away for air, Fang's kisses traveled to my collarbone, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. I let out an almost inaudible sigh, and he smirked. "The great Maximum Ride, weak at the knees after just a little kiss," he teased. I growled at him, but he just smirked again. Why did his smirk have to be so damn _sexy? _You try and stay mad at him when he does that while staring at you with his deep, obsidian eyes. Ignoring it, I brought my lips to his again. Ah, bliss... But sadly, we were 98% human, humans get tired, and it was late. Eventually, I fell asleep in his arms.

The next day I woke up, the sun fully risen, to Fang stroking my hair and looking at me with his intense, dark eyes. "Hey, sleeping beauty," he teased, giving me a little half-smile. It was still kinda chilly, and I snuggled closer to his bare chest. (Um…. yeah… that happened.) I didn't really mind… shirtless Fang and all that. I looked at the mountains in the distance, bathed red and gold by the morning light. Suddenly, i tensed.

"Wait. _Shit. _Is it freaking morning?" I yelped. "The flock-my mom- they're going to- they're going to-"

Fang smirked. "Yeah. Probably. But I don't care. What's the worst they can do? We've been experimented on, nearly killed, shot, et cetera, et cetera."

I nodded, relaxing a little. "What's the worst they can do?"

* * *

><p>Of freaking <em>course, <em>we'd forgotten about that little jinx on our lives whenever we said that.

_"_What!_" _we both yelled. I glanced at Fang, and he looked... _pissed. _My face was probably terrifying enough to scare any normal human, but my mom was... well, my _mom_, and Jeb only looked slightly intimidated.

My mother nodded firmly. "Yes. You will each sleep in separate rooms for the rest of the month. No... whatever it is you two do in there." She shuddered a little.

"But we weren't even... we just fell asleep out there! Nothing _happened!_" I glared at my mom.

Jeb cut in. "Yes, but we're talking about... other... times. We can't really afford for you to get pregnant, Max. Not now."

I whirled at him, my fists clenched. "Who's _we?_" I spat. "I _told_ you that you and your little scientists _don't control my life_. Not anymore." You could practically _see _the venom in my voice. Fang was just sort of... frozen in place. I think that all this talk of pregnancy, mine in particular, was seriously freaking him out. So much for Mr Emotionless. "And anyway, we use... protection..." This seemed to break Fang out of his shell. And suddenly, he was calm again.

"Jeb, Max has a point. You _don't_ control our lives- the flock's lives- anymore. You don't really have the right to tell us what to do. And we all know that Max _does not_ consider you her father. You lost that after you went back to the whitecoats." Fang folded his arms across his chest and I gaped at him. That was probably _the_ longest thing he'd ever said in front of anyone but me.

My mom gave us a death glare. Yeah, that's where I get it from. "Yes, but I am Max's mother. And _she_ will do what _I_ say."

I turned to her slowly, my eyes narrowing dangerously. I "We've lived on our own for _years. _We've never let any adult tell us what to do. You are _not_ an exception," I ground out. I glared for a moment, jaw clenched, and then turned my back on them. "I have to get out of here."

Fang stood for a moment and then followed me out the door, spreading his wings wide. As the house got smaller and smaller, we saw little specks come out the door and look up at us. The flock.

_**bold=Max**__ Italics=Angel_

_Are you leaving for good, Max?_

_**No, sweetie. Mom and Jeb made Fang and I a little... angry... and we're just going to go cool down. Tell the flock we'll be back. We will, I promise**__._

_Okay. Iggy says to 'use protection, kids.' What does he mean?_

_**It means tell Iggy SCREW YOU from Max.**_

_He says anytime. Why?_

_**Never mind, Ange. Fang and I will kick his a- butt when we get home.**_

Angel giggled as she read my mind while I was thinking of our conversation with Jeb and my mom.

_Fang looked scared! Wait.. EWWW! You guys really..._

_**Ummm... maybe? Just don't tell Iggy. He'd never let us rest.**_

_Okay, Max.. you guys are gross! Seriously, I did not need to know that! See you later. and come home. You promised._

_**We will, sweetie. And if you don't want to know, STAY OUT OF MY HEAD!**_

I felt Angel's presence leave my mind. "So, where now?" Fang asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Somewhere," I sighed. "Anywhere but here. Or the mall." Fang snorted. "What about the place from last night?" he suggested. 'It's nearby."

I nodded. "Yeah," I agreed. "But let's get home before dark... I guess we have to, to avoid another _episode,_ which we might get anyway."

Fang smirked. "God forbid we stay the night again." I laughed. Screw my mom and Jeb. But when we landed, Fang's face got serious. "Maybe we should... agree. To do what they said," he said tentatively. I looked at him disbelievingly.

He saw my face and quickly began to explain. "If we agree, they might stop nagging us. But of course, when I say agree, I mean say yes and sneak out every night against their wishes, but be home by morning so that only Angel will know. And she's loyal to us. To the flock. She'd never tell." I thought over that for a moment, and snorted a little at the 'loyal' part. Angel? Loyal to us? Maybe.

"I guess. But if she does tell, I blame you," I said teasingly.

Fang smirked, and as if he could read my mind (sweet Jesus forbid that happen) he said, "It's worth the risk. And besides, you know you can't stay away from all this." I knew he really wasn't _that_ full of himself. But I didn't care anymore once he kissed me, his strong arms holding me to him tightly, mine snaking around his neck.

Why, oh _why_, did we_ ever _have to go back?

**Okay so there's chapter one for ya! will update soon, I promise. But only if people love it... Hell, I'll continue it for the sake of one fan. So if you love it.. or if you don't... or if you have constructive criticsm... Review!**

**-Sierra**


	2. Almost Caught

**Hey. So... You guys reviewed. Happyfulness. (That should really be a word..)**

**Disclaimer: James Patterson doesn't have luscious brown hair like me… kidding. I don't own Maximum Ride.**

**Max: Damn right.**

**Me: …Ugh.**

**Oh, and I've decided to do FangPOV! Hope you like it. Tell me if he's OOC or anything.**

FangPOV

It was late when we got back to the house. We spoke to Dr M and Jeb- well, Max talked to her mom. Jeb was there too, but Max refused to talk to him, and you know me, all silent and the like. Dr M looked happy that Max wasn't beating the sh- er, crap out of Jeb. Normally, by now, there would be a few bruises, possibly a broken nose on him. But Max stuck with death glares and not speaking to Jeb. I think she only refrained from beating him within and inch of his life to appease her mom- I knew that Max hated it when her mom was angry with her, and she really hated being mad at Dr Martinez. But I also knew why Max had to show her mom that she was pissed- Dr M and Jeb had to know that they couldn't just control us, which makes _absolute_ sense paired with the fact that we told them we agreed to their terms. Although I'm pretty sure it helped that we didn't exactly fall on our knees begging for forgiveness.

"All right. You can go to your _own_ rooms now," said Dr M, putting emphasis on the 'own'. I could feel the anger rolling off Max like fog, but she kept her face smooth and walked off to her room. I shuffled in the opposite direction to mine, which I hadn't used in… months, really. You know, besides going back for clean clothes. But that's really it. I waited about half an hour for Jeb to leave the house, and then I heard footsteps walking down the hall towards my door. I tensed, wondering if it was Max or someone else…

And Dr M poked her head in. "Just checking if…" she muttered. I nodded curtly to her, and she left the room in silence. I knew what she was doing- checking if I was really here. Good thing for her she doesn't trust us.

Bad thing for her I can meld into shadows.

I stepped outside of my room once I heard her door close, going invisiFang **(Sorry, couldn't resist! I know he'd never say that)** as soon as I did just in case. I did a 360 and then walked silently down the hall away from Dr M's room, disappearing every few steps.

When I finally got outside Max's door, I hesitated. Should I knock? It would make too much noise, but it's rude not to…

And then I heard a little voice in my head. Angel.

_**Oh, just go in already.**_

_Angel? What are you doing up?_

_**Couldn't sleep. Now seriously, go in. I told Max you're there and she says come in for God's sake. I quote.**_

_Uh, thanks, Ange. Night._

_**Night, Fang.**_

I opened the door and there she was, sitting up, arms crossed. I looked at her warily. "What did I do now?"

She threw a pillow at me. "You're always such a gentleman at the wrong time. When I eat a brownie, you steal it, and when I want to kiss you, you wait to _knock?_ What is wrong with you?" By now I could tell that she was just joking.

"Blame yourself," I teased. "You're our leader, so technically, you raised us." She glowered at me.

Suddenly, Angel's voice appeared in my head again. Apparently in Max's too, because she stiffened.

_**Um, you guys? Iggy says keep it down up there… and you should know that Dr M is coming.**_

_Shit- oops, sorry, Angel…_

Max turned to me, eyes wide. "Hide! Get in my closet! Go! _Something!_" she whispered frantically. I smirked at her and waved goodbye as I stepped back into the corner and disappeared just as Dr M opened the door. Silly Max, you forgot I can go invisible…

Max's mom looked around the room. "I could've sworn I heard talking," she said suspiciously. Then her eyes fixed on Max's open window, and they narrowed angrily. "Maximum Ride..." she muttered angrily.

Damn. She thought I'd flown out.

Dr M stuck her head out the window and looked for me as I slipped behind her back and nearly sprinted to my room, somehow managing not to make too much noise. I crashed down on my bed and assumed a fake sleeping position, my mouth slightly open.

About thirty seconds later, Dr M walked in. I could feel her eyes on me as she studied me carefully. "I hope you two aren't up to anything," she said loudly, not caring if I was really asleep or faking. "I'll find out, if you are. I"m a _mom._"

I almost smirked at how ridiculous that sounded but how amazingly true it was. I'd never known my mom, but I bet she might've been like Dr M.

Oh, who am i kidding? My mom was a crackhead. We'd seen it in the files. She was sixteen. She didn't _want_ me. I don't blame her much... who really would?

_**Max does.**_

_ANGEL! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!_

_**No. Fang, you're worth much more than you think, and you know it.**_

_I never said I wasn't..._

_**I bet you were going to think it.**_

_No, I wasn't._

_**Yes, you were. Your mom made bad choices, but that doesn't have to affect you. You could be like Max is to Jeb; she doesn't even think of him as her father anymore, biological or no. To her, we're her real family, besides Dr Martinez and Ella.**_

_Which reminds me, Max has a freaking perfect mom. I know she's just trying to protect Max right now, but it's ridiculous that she feels like she has to protect her from me, of all people. And at least Max knows WHO her dad is! I have no freaking idea!_

_**Fang, did you forget that Gazzy and my parents **_**gave**_** us to the School, knowing full well what would happen to us? At least your mom thought that it was a normal hospital.**_

_Angel, I... I'm sorry._

_**It's not your fault.**_

_Um, okay. Maybe you should get some sleep..._

_**Yeah, I should. And by the way, Dr M doesn't want to make you guys mad, she's just trying to protect her, like you said. And you don't have to be jealous of Max's mom. She thinks of you as her family, too.**_

_Uh, thanks. Goodnight, Angel. For real this time._

_**Night, Fang.**_

I lay there for a while, thinking, and then I realized that I'd opened up about my feelings. A lot.

To a _nine-year-old._

**Aww, Fangles has feelings! Who knew? Anyway... Sorry if this one seems short, but I posted twice, in two days. **

**-Sierra**


	3. Mmm, Waffles

**Wow, I looked at all my reviews and I have 17 so far. I decided to respond to some of them…. So yeah.**

**pancakes-for-you: yeah, I thought it seemed weird, and I didn't intend for angel to be so… therapist-y, I just thought maybe Fang should show a little softer side? Thanks for your compliments and your criticism.**

**Trapped in Narnia: It probably should…. if it's because of the cussing, let me know what I should cut down on using, because I'm not sure what qualifies for M. AND DYLAN WILL NOT BE HERE BECAUSE I HATE HIS GUTS. I might put that he got killed off, though. Heheh.**

**wingedgymnast12: Thanks for your suggestion, but I'm not sure if that will be relevant to the story anymore, but I don't know. **

**Petemidnight13: Thanks for your suggestion too, but could you please explain? I'm not really sure what you intend it to mean.**

**And thank you to all my other reviewers.**

MaxPOV

I woke up the next morning missing the usual feeling of Fang's arm around me and his Red-Hots-ish scent. I sat up, panicking. Where was he?

Oh, RIGHT. He couldn't sleep in here. For a MONTH.

I groaned just thinking about it, flopping back onto my sheets. Sometimes my mom annoyed the heck out of me… And then, a familiar smell wafted in through slightly open door. CHOCOLATE. CHIP. COOKIES. I leapt out of my bed and took the stirs two at a time into the kitchen. "Where are the cookies?" I demanded, not caring that there should/would probably be tension between my and my mom at this point.

"Still in the oven," she said, smiling at me. "I thought you deserved a bit of an apology. I didn't trust you guys last night, but you did what we asked."

I suddenly felt guilt wash over me. "Uh, yeah," I mumbled. "We did." (Technically, we didn't, because we tried...) I gave her a fake smile and a hug, feeling bad for betraying her trust as she stepped back. "I was going to call the flock down for breakfast," my mom said, gesturing at Iggy, who was making waffles, "but I thought you'd like to. I know how you hate it when someone else takes care of them." I grinned a little. Huh. I guess she knew me better then I thought.

"GAZZY! ANGEL! FANG! NUDGE!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. "BREAKFAST IN FIVE OR YOU GET SOGGY WAFFLES!"

Iggy laughed. "Nice one, Max," he chuckled.. "That'll get them out of bed." His words were apparently true, because at the mere mention of soggy waffles, Gazzy and Nudge were downstairs in a flash. Angel came down right after them, eyes bright. How does she do that? It's, like, nine a.m. I am not an early riser when I can afford not to be.

After Angel, Fang stumbled down the stairs into the kitchen. He was covering a yawn with one hand, the other one messing up his hair further. And… bonus for Max… he was shirtless, just wearing his black sweatpants. My breath hitched in my throat a little, and Angel giggled in my head.

Iggy heard me and smirked. "Allow me to take a crack at how many articles of clothing Fang is wearing," he snickered. Before he could, I smacked him in the arm. Hard. Fang mumbled something sleepily, but I didn't bother to see what it was.

"Ow, Max! Be careful, I could burn your waffles. Or worse- your precious cookies!" he taunted. "My hand just might slip over the temperature dial." Said hand inched toward the dial, threatening to turn it up.

"DON'T. THREATEN. MY. COOKIES," I growled, grabbing his wrist. "Or I will threaten your manhood." Gazzy and the now-wide-awake Fang cringed at that. Iggy snatched his hand back to the waffle iron when I let it go, scowling at me. I laughed. "Just get me my waffles, Ig."

"Flock, I'm going to run a quick errand. Don't blow anything up," warned my mom, grabbing the keys and walking out the door. There was a chorus of "Okay, Dr M,"s and waves goodbye.

I sat down at the table next to Fang as Iggy dished out the waffles onto everyone's plates. I grabbed the whipped cream before Gazzy could and smirked at him, spraying it all over my waffles and then piling on the strawberries.** (I'm hungry now…)** "Here you go, Gaz," I said, still smirking as he tried to spray the now-empty can over his waffles. What can I say? Three thousand calories a day, remember? And we don't get waffles that often.

"Iggy, Max used all the whipped cream!" complained the Gasman. Iggy snickered and said, "Nice job, Max. What do you see in her, Fang?" He walked over to the fridge and got out two more bottles. (What? We still had Angel, Fang, Gazzy, Nudge, and the chef himself to go through. Hell, we might need three.)

"We're both throwing you death glares, Ig," I said, doing so. He laughed a little and said, "Ooh, scary. Glare at the blind guy."

I felt myself boiling with rage. And then Fang turned to me, holding a finger over his smirking lips. He got up silently, picking up a can of whipped cream and creeping up behind Iggy, who was busy putting the extra waffles on a plate. There wasn't very many, trust me. Fang smirked again, looking at us, and promptly sprayed whipped cream all over Iggy's head.

Iggy turned around, smiling deviously. I saw his right fist clenched over a bottle of his own ammo. I shook with silent laughter, deciding against warning Fang. This was gonna be good.

"You didn't think you'd get me that easily, did you, Fangles?" said Iggy, smirking. "COUNTERATTACK!" He shot the delicious whiteness all over Fang's hair.

Fang growled in response. "No. One. Touches. My. Hair."

I busted out laughing and grabbed a can, aiming at Iggy's pants. "Hey!" he yelped. Gazzy got a can of his own, and Nudge and Angel ran to the fridge and got some, joining the fray. (Yeah, we have that many cans. What can I say? We use a lot.)

It ended with all of us clutching our sides, covered in whipped cream and cackling madly. (Well, except for Angel and Fang. Fang was just laughing and Angel with her sweet-little-girl-ness was having a giggle attack.) I stood up straight, truing to catch my breath, and surveyed the kitchen. "We are absolutely dead," I whispered.

"You've got that right," said a voice in the doorway.

My mom.

Oh, hell.

"I want this kitchen SPOTLESS in the next forty-five minutes or NO COOKIES! FOR ANYONE!" she yelled. But I could see that she was holding back laughter.

"Not the cookies! I screeched. "All right! Iggy and Gaz, you guys take the sink, the surrounding cupboards, ad the island! Nudge, you and Angel take the fridge and the area around it, and Fang and I will do the stove and the counters! Go!" Iggy snickered at the last pairing and the joke I had unknowingly given him opportunity for. I whirled on him.

"One. More. Sound. Now get to work." He sobered immediately and began scrubbing, and I turned back around, holding my own washcloth.

It's gonna be a long day.

**OKAY! *cowers behind iMac* PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR WRITING A FILLER! I know it had virtually nothing to do with the plotline but I REALLY WANTED TO WRITE SOME SUGARY FLUFF! AHHHHH! *RUNS AWAY SCREAMING HYSTERICALLY***

**Fang: Sorry for Sierra's outburst. She did tell you she was a nervous wreck.**

**Max: Yeah. But that food fight seemed fun. Wanna go start one?**

**Fang: Sure, but first, does your breath really 'hitch' when I'm shirtless?**

**Max: Um… No? *FOLLOWS ME, ALSO SCREAMING HYSTERICALLY***

**Fang: Psh… girls. Review. Actually, don't. Don't even read this story. It's embarrassing to me.**

**Me: I HEARD THAT!**

**Max: SO DID I! WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT GIRLS?**

**Fang: Ummm… BYE!**

**Me: Fang was kidding! REVIEW AND READ ON! AND AGAIN, DO NOT SEND THE EVILE DORA CLONES AFTER ME! I BEG OF THEE! (Haha, I rhymed. that was terrible. I'm embarrassed.)**


	4. Watch Duty Again?

**I looked at all my reviews and YOU GUYS MADE MY DAY! Thanks so much.**

**Disclaimer: Haha, I'm not going to do it!**

**Random Voice Outside My House: OPEN UP! THIS IS THE FBI!**

**Me: WHAT DID I DO THIS TIME?**

**FBI: You _again?_**

**Me: Yeah. What do you want?**

**FBI: COPYRIGHT! YOU REFUSED TO DO A DISCLAIMER!**

**Me: What? *sees flock behind FBI dude's back* YOU GUYS TOLD ON ME?**

**Flock: …Maybe?**

**Me: UGH! FINE, I DON'T OWN YOU! BUT SOMEDAY I WILL! *mad cackle***

**On with the story! Oh, and this is like two days after the whipped cream fight.**

FangPOV

I was lying on my bed staring at the ceiling, hands behind my head. Nighttime was boring now that I couldn't sleep in Max's room. Not like _that_- I just had no one to talk to… SO BORED… Maybe I could go for a quick fly…

I got up and opened my window, enjoying the cool night breeze on my face. I climbed out, holding on to the sill, and snapped open my wings, letting go and soaring upwards. That feels nice... After flying around the house for a little while, I went further out into the desert. Wow, this place was pretty damn barren. And cold. And flat, except for the occasional mesa/plateau/random outcropping thing.

Suddenly, I noticed a small black shape moving slowly west far below me. It was about the size of an ant from here, so I swooped down closer to it, making sure to stay silent as I did so. It looked like… what the hell?

It was a man. Just walking. In regular apparel, nothing special. He wasn't a Flyboy, or an M-Geek. He was seemingly middle-aged, already balding, with a slight paunch. Just a normal guy.

Which immediately made me suspicious.

I mean, what kind of normal person is walking in the desert (AT ELEVEN AT NIGHT, MAY I MENTION) with nowhere to go? He wasn't going towards our house; there was no cars or helicopters in sight, nothing. At all. All of a sudden, the man took a turn and stood behind a large plateau. I landed on top of it, peering over the side. He pulled out a cell phone.

Wait…. How did he get service out here?

He dialed a number into the phone and someone picked up on the first ring. He started to hiss furiously into the receiver, and I flew back around the other side and walked silently to where he was, going up almost right behind his back and melding with the night. (InvisiFang RETURNS!)

"Yes, I just told you! Subjects one and two are there! The other four may be a problem, but we already have the-" he was cut off as the person on the other end shouted angrily.

"It's all taken care of. Yes, soon. Goodbye." The man whirled around, muttering inaudibly to himself. And then he paused, looking suspiciously at the seemingly empty space where I was. He outstretched a hand, inches away from my chest. I wasn't breathing. And then he turned around, deciding that nothing was there, and set off in the direction he'd been going. Once he was far enough away, I set off as fast as I could towards the house. I had to tell the flock. Right now.

What did it mean? Were we the subjects? (WELL DUR FANG… Oh, I guess it's my fault you're being stupid…)

**LINE BREAK! It is an enchanter. Some may call it... Tim. (First one to get the reference gets a shout-out! I'm retarded, aren't I? Oh well.)**

"Tell me exactly what he said, again," commanded Max. I sighed, exasperated. This was about the tenth time she'd made me say it. I'm pretty sure that I've already exhausted my word limit and beyond it for the day.

"He said that 'subjects one and two are there', 'the other four may be a problem', and 'we already have the', and then he was cut off. After that he said that 'it's all taken care of', and 'soon'. Then he hung up." I settled back in my seat, resolving not to say it again. _Ever._

"Do you think he was talking about us?" asked Iggy. I just looked at him flatly, and Nudge spoke for me.

"Well of course he was, because you know we're the only six people worth doing anything to out here, oops that sounded so conceited but you know what I mean don't you? But I hope if they kidnap us they let me take along my pink Converse, because they're the cutest shoes I-"

"_NUDGE_!" everyone shouted simultaneously. She shut her mouth and glared at us.

"That's better," said Max, sighing in relief. "Okay, so maybe we need to start keeping watches at night. Iggy and I groaned- besides Max, we were the only ones who actually kept watch.

"Can't we just set up some cameras?" begged Iggy. "I actually like to sleep sometimes." I nodded in agreement.

Max threw us a mini death glare before continuing on. "No, we can't. Cameras are too easy to disable, get around, and fool in general. Not an option. Tomorrow night, we start keeping watches. " And with that, she turned around and walked up the stairs, calling after her, "Fang, Ig, get some sleep. You're gonna need it."

I shook my head and trudged up the stairs after Max to my room. Might as well take her advice... ugh.. i hate it when she's right.

**This chapter is making me sleepy… I don't know why… anyway, you shall soon find out who the mysterious fat bald guy is. Goodbye, (for now) dear readers... review please! Oh, and I recently started calling my sister Nudge because she has a hard time shutting up. They could be twins. Except for, you know, Nudge's wings… and sense of style… and dark skin... and general slight awesomeness... none of which my sister has.**

**-Sierra**


	5. Suicide Bomber

**OKAY, FIRST OF ALL HOLY FREAKING SHIZ OH MY FREAKING BACON HALO 4 IS COMING OUT and yes, I am a girl who plays Halo. I'm a nerd. Bite me.**

**Okay, now that that's out, I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday, but I was feeling pretty craptastic. Bite me. And you're pretty lucky to be getting a chapter today because I've been doing voice acting for The Last War (my big bro's machinima, check out Chronicler 177 on YouTube. The Last War won't be up for a while though but I'm the STAR!) and it takes forever so don't be mad if I fail to update over the next few days. But I shall try!**

**And congrats to Petemidnight13! You got the reference first! And Amy and TrappedInNarnia also got it. So kudos to you guys!**

**(Oh, and pancakes-for-you: Fang, Iggy, and Max are seventeen, Nudge is fourteen, Gazzy is eleven, and Angel is nine.)**

**Disclaimer: Imma just be lazy today. I don't own Maximum Ride.**

FOUR DAYS AFTER THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER!

MaxPOV

"Yo," came a voice out of nowhere.

I whirled around. "Dammit, Fang!" I cursed. "Make noise. That's an order." He just smirked.

I had previously been alone up here on the roof of my mom's house, keeping watch, until Mr. I'll-Annoy-The-Hell-Out-Of-Max came up here. So far, for the last three days, we hadn't seen anything interesting around. Key word being seen- just because we don't see it doesn't mean it's not there. Iggy was excused from watch duty because I realized that we were looking for things in the distance, not listening for things around us like when we're on the run and he keeps watch. So we put Nudge in his spot. She's fourteen now- we were that old when we started keeping watch. Of course, she had whined about her 'beauty sleep'- but a good old death glare and she shut up faster than Iggy after a knee to the place where the sun don't shine. The bambi eyes were NOT going to work this time.

"Why are you here anyway?" I said to Fang. "It's not your turn for watch yet. You should be sleeping."

He shook his head. "I can't." A man of many words. I know, right? Well, two can play at that game. I just nodded. No concerned 'are you okay' s or 'why' s from me, no sir.

We sat in silence for a while, but I was itching to know why, and so I caved. THIS IS NOT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS! THIS WAS A CHOICE! Don't even go there, or I will find you.

"Why?"

He shrugged. Oh, fine. That's what I get for being a concerned leader/girlfriend/thing. Whatever, Fang. We were quiet again for about five minutes, and then he spoke. Without any prompting! It's a freaking miracle! I'm starting to wonder if he's sick. Too much bacon, maybe?

"It's really boring, not sleeping together anymore. I can't talk to you when i feel like it; I don't have your breathing to fall asleep to. I just don't get tired until morning anymore, when I have to be _awake._"

I turned to him and… whoa… he was really close to me. Close enough for me to really notice the deep bruises under his eyes, close enough for his minty breath to make me dizzy. Close enough for him to kiss me. I tilted my head a little further, and he ran his fingers lightly up my spine. A little shudder went through me.

And _that_ was when I heard a someone clear their throat.

Curse you and your watch turn, Nudge.

"Sorry to interrupt you guys, but that's totally gross and I have to watch now which I'm still totally not happy about, so could you please go so I can get this over with and go back to sleeping because I'm going to look totally-" I slapped a hand over her mouth and then warily removed it, hoping that she wouldn't start babbling again.

"That's okay, Nudge, I was just leaving," I said frostily, jumping off the roof and flying down to my open window. Almost every freakin' time, there was something. But after a good hour of being a little pissed at Nudge, I drifted off to sleep.

FangPOV

"Fang. Fang, wake up."

I rolled over groggily. "Nudge?" Why is she down here? It's not my turn to watch yet. I looked more closely at her. Her eyes were wide, and she looked pretty pale.

"I- I think I saw something. I came to you 'cause Max's room is too far away. "

I jumped out of my bed at that. "Okay, you go wake up Angel and Gazzy. I'll get Nudge and Iggy. Run!" She nodded fearfully and ran out of my room. If she was going to be this quiet, we need to scare her more often.

When i came to Max's room, I didn't bother to knock and pushed open the door. Max was sleeping pretty heavily- I can't blame her. She needs it. So I felt a little guilty as I shook her awake.

"No… give me back my cookies… No… WHO DARES WAKE ME?" Max growled, bolting upright in her bed.

"Max, it's just me. Nudge saw something, and we have to go check it out. Everyone but us and Iggy are on the roof. Come on. And what was that about cookies?"

"Ummm, I'll explain later. Go wake up Iggy, I'll be with the others."

I got Iggy and we met everyone else on the roof. Gazzy and Angel were laying low so that whatever was out there wouldn't see them- Iggy and I followed suit. Max was crouching, asking Nudge where she had seen it, and Nudge was pointing west- the same direction I'd seen that creepy bald guy a few days ago.

"You're right- I see something moving. It's not being very stealthy at all," Max murmured. "Can you pick up anything from here, Ange?"

Angel shook her head. "I'd have to get closer." I stood up slowly and crouched next to Max.

"Where is it again?" I asked her quietly.

"Fang! Get down, it'll see you!" she hissed.

"No, it won't. InvisiFang, remember?" Wait, crap. Did I really just say that out loud? I made myself invisible so that she couldn't see my face turn red.

"Umm, okay," said Max, giving the empty space that was me a weird look. She missed my eyes by about five inches. Hah. She pointed out a dark shape that was slowly moving… was it towards or away from us? I couldn't tell.

"Well, are we gonna check it out?" I said, raising an eyebrow. Haha, Max couldn't see that, either. I bet I could make any face I wanted… But Angel would probably tell her about it.

_You're right, I probably would._

_**Ugh. How can such a tiny little person hold so much evil?**_

_Hey!_

"Yeah, we are. I'm trying to figure out if all of us should go, or just one or two. Oh, and make any faces, and I'll know and it'll be so bruised you won't be able to for weeks," growled Max.

I ignored that last part- like she would really punch me in the face. She's just grumpy, and I'm too hot for that. (Damn. Now I know what Max is talking about when she says I have a huge ego.) "Well, if we send all of us, we'd make too much noise, and if it's only one or two of us, it could go very, very badly, since we don't even know what it is," I mused.

Max considered this for a moment, and then said, "Wait. When you go all invisible, if you're touching someone, will they disappear too?"

"I don't know," I said, surprised. "I've never tried. But I don't see how that would help us, because if any of one us moves, it'll be able to see all of us."

Max didn't respond to that and just held out her arm, waiting for me to take it. I reached out hesitantly, touched her, and…

Bam. You got an invisible Max.

I took my arm back, and she was grinning. "This is good," she said. "This is very, very good."

"But we can't move. How does this help?"

She rolled her eyes in a this-is-so-easy-to-figure-out way (still not getting it here) and said impatiently, "Well, it looks obvious now that they're moving towards us, and if you can get Angel close enough to hear its thoughts- if it has any- she'll tell us what it is in our heads, and then we can go attack it, if it's something we've dealt with before."

Well, _now_ I felt stupid. I agreed and turned to Angel, thinking of the plan, and she nodded. I picked her up and landed at the back of the house where whatever it was couldn't see us, and slowly advanced around the side, stopping every few seconds to meld in with the shadows.

"Wait- Fang, stop,' whispered Angel suddenly. I froze. "I can hear something… give me a sec...there." I waited patiently for her to tell me what the hell it was and what it was doing here.

"It's human," she said slowly, "and it's doing a recon. It's looking for us. Wait… something isn't right. It's blocking something from me, just one little thing... We have to be careful- this could be a trap."

I nodded and motioned upwards, telling her to let the flock know. She took a few seconds to do so, and then gave me the okay. I soared upwards freely- stealth wasn't a necessity now. Max gave the signal for us to move out- I set Angel down and followed the flock into the night.

MaxPOV

Oh, dive-bombing. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Never mind, I don't feel like math at the moment.

I landed in front of our target, who was by now cowering in fear at the sight of six angry bird-kids flying straight towards him. Man, this guy was stupid- and slow. In seconds I had his arms pinned behind his back, and Fang was holding his previously flailing legs. The guy looked young- too bad he had to die. He'd had a whole life of being evil ahead of him.

I gave Iggy control of the guy's arms so that I could interrogate him. "Who are you, who do you work for, and what do they want?" I snarled.

He just cackled madly in response. Got the giggles, huh? A broken nose can fix that. I punched him, and there was a crunch. Blood flowed freely down his face, but he didn't even seem to notice as he sneered at me.

"You'll never know," he said snidely. "You should take the dark boy and get out before it's too late. Boss would be disappointed if you didn't."

I was about to ask him what the hell he meant when Iggy cut me off.

"Uh, Max?" he said, leaning close to the guy's chest, as if he was listening for something. "We need to get out of here. Right now." Angel screamed, and Iggy jumped back and grabbed Fang and Gazzy, pulling them up with him. Nudge and I shot up after them into the sky, Angel right on our heels, just in time for us to escape the explosion.

When we were far enough away that we could barely feel the heat, we stopped. "Bomb in his chest," panted Iggy. "That's what he was hiding from Angel."

Angel nodded shakily. "He let down the block right before he detonated," she managed.

I made sure that everyone was relatively undamaged. They were, except for singed hair and clothes. We got pretty lucky. What, you don't get nearly killed all the time? Well we do, and this was a pretty good outcome compared to some others.

When we got back to the house, my mom and Ella (just now realized that I had completely forgotten to put her in the story so far) were waiting outside the house, looking worried and frantic.

"You guys can't go a week without something happening, can you?" sighed my mom, taking in our slightly burnt appearances. "Well, at least you're okay."

Ella hugged us each tightly. I noticed that she blushed a little when she stepped away from Iggy. Hmm… I made a mental note to talk to her about that later. By the time we'd gotten cleaned up enough for my mom to let us sleep in our beds, it was almost dawn. We all went into our rooms and immediately collapsed- can you blame us?

But the one thing that bothered me as my eyes closed was that I'd completely forgotten to think about what the suicide mission (literally) guy had said. Why did he want Fang and I out of there? Why not just kill us along with the rest of the flock?

Eh. I'll leave figuring out the crazy minds of their crazy owners until tomorrow.

**You like? Review it. **

**-Sierra**


	6. Oh, Holy Crap

**I just read Diary of a Lovesick Mutant… if you haven't read it yet, go do it now before I come to your house in the night. It. Is. Bacontastic. (By the way, I will probably be saying things associated with bacon a lot more now… just to warn you.)**

**Trapped In Narnia: thank you for asking! Short reviews don't really bother me. A review is review is a review! But long ones are nice. AND ESCPECIALLY ONES THAT MENTION BACON! (There I go again…)**

**Pancakes-for-you: AHHHHH! I JUST REALIZED THAT I FORGOT ABOUT HIM! JUST LIKE ELLA! I apologize to the spirits of those characters. But I think I'll just leave Total out… I'm already in too far and I'd have to change up a lot of stuff that I have planned.**

**Thank you for your reviews, all of you. They make me smile. Oh… and don't Google 'seductive bacon.' The idea to do so came to me at about three a.m. last night… and I did… and I have seen the unseeable. It's not really bad, no naked people for once, but it's just… ugh. Do it if you're curious.**

FangPOV

In the week after Evil Suicide Man paid us a visit, everything was relatively calm. Gazzy and Iggy blew stuff up, Nudge babbled; Angel annoyed THE HELL out of everyone with her constant mind reading. (ESPECIALLY ME.) I annoyed Max, among... other… things… like making out with her… and Max was Max. In all her Max-ish glory, drizzled with Max sauce.

Oh _god_, that sounded weird.

_You're right. It did._

_**I'm not even going to say anything other than YOU HAVE EXACTLY THREE SECONDS.**_

_Oh dear._

_**Hell yes, oh dear.**_

I jumped out of chair where I'd been sitting (so very comfortably, might I add), and bolted after Angel. "GET BACK HERE!" I yelled.

Gazzy looked up. "If you're going to kill Angel, do you mind if I help you?" he called after me. I just grunted, concentrating on catching the little blonde demon that called itself a person.

I flew right out the door and after Angel into the REALLY hot, dry afternoon air. "What exactly are you planning to do?" she shouted down at me. When did she get so damn fast? She was freaking nine!

"Language, Fang," she taunted. Angel laughed and swirled around in the sky some more, and I flew straight towards her. I don't know exactly what I would do when I caught her… chainsaws are a little bit too extreme, right?

Suddenly, Max ran out of the house. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" she practically screamed, glaring at me. I think that one could have killed puppies. But not me… I'm too Fangalicious. **(I…. I just had to… You understand, right? RIGHT?)**

Wait, what? WHAT DID I JUST SAY?

I was too distracted to answer myself at the time, though, because Max was lunging at me. She knocked me to the ground and kneeled over me.

"WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL MY BABY?" she shrieked, getting ready to punch me in the face. Hmm, maybe she really would do that. I guess boredom+extreme heat+PMS+Max= CRAZY BITCH MAX.

I put my hands up defensively. "She wouldn't stay the hell out of my head! And I wasn't gonna kill her… Maybe just seriously injure, or maim…"

Max gave me another glare, and got off me, brushing her hands off. "Angel… just… just go inside before Fang does something he'll get his ass kicked for, and try not to annoy him too badly." Angel gave her an innocent nod (HA! I'M SO FREAKIN SURE!) and walked inside. Max turned to me, a scowl on her face.

"Fang… you can't kill her... I know she's annoying sometimes, but please at least refrain from mortally wounding her." I saw her crack a small smile then, and I knew she wasn't mad anymore.

Wait… no… here comes the angry again.

Her face darkened (I have to admit, it was scary) and she balled her fists. Please make it quick… I've been relatively good my whole life! Well, except for those cars… and all that other stuff we stole…

Then, the murderous look disappeared. Whew. Wait- oh, shit, that's the evil grin… the one she gives you when she's about to hurt you in some non-physical form. I almost stepped back warily, but I can't do that… SHE CAN SMELL FEAR. I SWEAR SHE CAN.

"You know, Gazzy and Iggy still have some pictures from that one time with the pineapple and that mouse-" I slapped a hand over her mouth. ANYONE COULD HEAR THIS! And if that ever got out… I would be shunned forever by the world. I'm not even going to tell you. Why would I? I don't even know you.

"What do you want from me?" I hissed. She smirked under my hand, and peeled it off.

"I'm just kidding, Fang. You know I'd never post those on the Internet," she said, laughing. Actually, I didn't. She might. I shuddered at the thought.

We walked back into the house, only to have the entire flock and Ella waiting there for us. I could tell they wanted something, and I started to edge out of the room, but Max grabbed my arm. Looks like I wasn't getting out of this one. It's just that whenever the flock wants something Max doesn't want, she counts on me to help her out... and it's not fun. Wait- no; Nudge, Ella, and Angel wanted something. Iggy and Gazzy looked like they would rather be anywhere but here. I wonder how they'd got roped into this. Probably blackmail- Nudge was my guess.

"Max we were wondering if we could pretty pretty please all go shopping with your mom today? Dr M says it's fine with her if you agree," begged Nudge. Uh oh- Max hated it when Nudge and Angel wanted to go shopping with her mom. Because naturally, Max would never go, and she didn't like it when the flock was split up. At all.

Max bit her lip. "I don't know, Nudge," she said hesitantly. "I can't stop Ella from going, but I don't like this." Ella always went with Dr M, so she was probably just here to help them beg. Iggy and Gazzy looked ready to kill, and I think Max noticed, because she asked why they were here.

Iggy and Gazzy opened their mouths, but Nudge shot them a look. "They need some new clothes," she said brightly. She'd probably found them making a bomb out of Max's clothes again. Nudge was good, I had to admit.

Max looked like she was about to say no, and looked Nudge right in the eyes.

Let me tell you, that was a big mistake.

Nudge turned on the bambi eyes. Full blast. It was a good thing this wasn't up to me- I would've caved then and there.

Max fought the nuclear cuteness for a minute, and then she gave in. "Fine," she sighed, "but don't torture Gazzy and Iggy too much." She looked at them sympathetically, despite the fact that they'd probably done something she told them not to, and she knew it.

Suddenly, I realized that I could still be blackmailed into going, and I ran up the stairs, mumbling something about going to the bathroom. I hid out in my room until I heard the car leave, along with the groans of the Gasman and Iggy, and the cheers of Nudge, Angel, and Ella.

I took my time walking down the stairs- why rush? I was alone. Wait… no I wasn't. I was alone WITH MAX.

This could turn out very well. Or very, very badly.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I looked around for her. Huh. I could've sworn I just saw her in here… She wasn't in the kitchen, either. I looked around the house, in every room, for a full ten minutes. And then I realized that she was probably outside, maybe going for a short fly. I walked out the door and flew up to the roof, squinting at the horizon. There was nothing there... not even a black speck. And I have raptor vision, thank you very much. Now I was worried. "Okay, Max, if you're hiding, come out. It's not funny," I yelled.

I got no reply.

I went back into the house. "Seriously, Max!" I shouted. "Where are you?" I decided to check the whole house again, in case I'd missed her.

But that wouldn't be necessary.

Because as I soon as I walked into the kitchen, I saw her.

Unconscious, slumped in the arms of a Flyboy.

**A cliffhanger... yeah. Ain't that just bacontastic?**


	7. Captured

**Hey guys… I feel really… meh... today. So yeah…. But thank you to all my reviewers that mentioned bacon! It made me so happy.**

**Okay… Here goes nothing… **

FangPOV

You have got to be freaking kidding me.

I heard more footsteps behind me and whirled around to face about six more Flyboys. Piece. Of. Cake. They should really know to send more by now… I could feel adrenaline whipping through my veins and got ready to attack... It had been a while, and I was itching for a good fight. I was about to do so when the one behind me holding Max spoke. "Stop, or I will kill the girl. I will not hesitate."

I turned around slowly, seething with rage. They had me there… I couldn't let Max get hurt. "Didn't your little scientist buddies tell you to catch all of us?" I spat. "Last time I counted, one plus one didn't equal six. Maybe you really are as stupid as you look." The Flyboy ignored me, saying, "You will come with us."

Wait… Maybe all they wanted was Max and I. Didn't Max tell me something about the suicide guy wanting both of us to get out before he exploded? But why would they just want us? I feel so special now. Right.

My teeth clenched as the Flyboys behind me bound my wrists. And I let them. After all those times we've escaped, won fights against much more than freaking TEN FLYBOYS, I had to just… give up. Max would yell at me if she were awake- "Don't worry about me, kick their asses," or something like that- but unfortunately, she wasn't, and that Flyboy could take her out in the blink of an eye.

How did they even catch her? She's Max, for god's sake. This is completely illogical.

"You will come with us," he droned again. Suddenly, two more figures entered the kitchen.

Oh my God.

Now you REALLY have to be freaking kidding me. Hint hint, Itex, you tried this once, and it didn't exactly work out.

They'd made clones of Max and me.

Do they ever learn? ANGEL CAN READ MINDS. I bet Max 3, or whatever she is, is gonna offer to cook. Hah. I glared at my other me (wow, that sounded weird) and he smirked, and as if he knew what I was thinking, he spoke. "We've got mind blocks on everything important. Angel will never know. And this time, we act just like you do." Holy crap. He even called her Angel, not 'the mind reader' or whatever.

This was bad. This was very, very bad.

And that was my last thought before Me 2.0 said goodnight and chloroformed me.

MaxPOV

Darkness. Voices. Pain.

That was all there was.

Terrible, terrible pain.

Burning pain. Searing, like acid.

Agony.

Suddenly, my eyes snapped open, and I screamed. Long and loud.

PAIN. PAIN. PAIN.

That was all I could think, even now.

"What's wrong with subject one?" shouted a voice over my screaming. A man in a white coat bent over me to look at a monitor. A white coat.

Oh, great.

"She's at her limit- give her the antidote."

Antidote? I like that word. I hope.

I didn't even feel the needle through the burning- and suddenly, it stopped. My breathing slowed, and I quieted, closing my eyes.

"She did better than we expected- this is good."

"What... was… that…" I managed, eyes still closed. I almost asked where I was, but I already knew it.

I was in a School.

Welcome home, Max.

"She's still conscious," observed a whitecoat.

"No shit," I muttered.

"That, subject one, was a test," one said coolly. "One of many tests. This one in particular was to test your endurance, how much pain you could take."

Well, shit. I get to be tested on some more. Aren't I a lucky girl!

Suddenly, I noticed a sound coming from the next room. Hmm, shouldn't these walls be soundproof? Great! They're cheap AND they love to torture people! Such winning personalities.

"What's that noise?" I said quietly. I would've been all over the demanding and yelling, but I felt pretty… pretty… it almost hurts to say this… WEAK. Ew.

"Subject two did not react well to your exclamations, even the ones in your sleep," said a whitecoat. "We found him quite angered." I assumed that subject two was Fang- the muffled shouting sounded like him. Oh, and 'my exclamations'? Right. More like 'screams at the top of my lungs.' And I screamed in my sleep? How does_ that_ not wake me up?

"So what kind of 'tests' are you putting him through?" I said rather groggily. Getting… sleepy…

Another whitecoat grinned. "Nothing yet- nothing we had planned on, anyway. We are currently testing his strength without him knowing it- ever since he woke he has been trying to break out of his room and into here. He has been suffering injuries- bones do not take kindly to being rammed against the metal of our doors."

Fang was such an _idiot_! He was trying to rescue me? And he was breaking his _bones_ trying to get out? He was _so stupid_ sometimes… if he hadn't gotten out by now, he probably wasn't gonna get out at all.

If we got out- no, _when_ we got out- I was having a talk with him. But at the same time… it was kinda sweet of him for trying. But that doesn't give him an excuse.

All of a sudden, I felt really tired. I looked at my arm, and sure enough, there was another needle. I struggled to stay conscious, but the blackness was so very inviting… and warm… and wait, no, what am I thinking? Wake up, Max, wake up!

But it was too late- my eyes drifted closed.

FlockPOV

A bubbling Nudge, Ella, and Angel, walked into the house, carrying bags and laughing and talking. The exhausted Dr Martinez, Gazzy, and Iggy followed them in and immediately sat down, sighing with relief. "Thank _bacon _that's over," muttered Iggy. Suddenly, Max walked down the stairs. "Have fun?" she said, smirking and noticing their tired expressions. Iggy glared at her (as well as a blind kid can), and she laughed and went to go talk to the girls. Fang descended quietly, being his broody, silent self. Gazzy waved to him. "Hey, Fang." Fang just nodded at him and left to go get something to eat.

When Fang II was alone, he smiled to himself. They didn't suspect a thing.

**Oooo... Evilness... IT'S EVERYWHERE.**

**In advance, I give reviewers virtual cookies! (::)**

**-Sierra**


	8. That's Gotta Hurt

**WAZZZZZZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**

**Sorry.. I just watched Scary Movie… so yeah… IHateJam, thank you for the virtual bacon! I feel better than ever. And everyone else thanks for the encouraging reviews!**

**Oh, and I think some of you got confused- the clones' entire minds aren't blocked, only the things that would give them away.**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: *snaps fingers, Fang appears out of nowhere***

**Fang: What the hell? Where am I?**

**Me: I HAVE SUMMONED YOU TO DO THE DISCLAIMER!**

**Fang: And what if I don't?**

**Me: I own you, and you stay here. FOREVER.**

**Fang: **_**HELL NO**_**. SHE DOESN'T OWN US! **_**SHE DOESN'T OWN US!**_

**(I couldn't think of a way to start the chapter, so I used the only other thing there was: BACON!)**

ThirdPersonPOV (a day later)

Angel got up to go get some bacon for Iggy. He reasoned that since the girls put him through that (YESTERDAY, MIGHT SHE ADD), he should at least get some bacon for it. There was already a plate on the counter in the kitchen, she knew.

When Angel walked into the kitchen, Fang was standing next to the bacon. He whirled around, holding a slice guiltily. "Umm… I was just… don't tell Iggy!" he whispered. She giggled. Iggy was very protective of his bacon.

"I won't," she laughed. Fang flopped onto the couch in the other room when he was done with his illegal bacon-eating. Angel searched his mind for anything interesting, and suddenly she came across a wall. She frowned and pushed against it with her consciousness, but she couldn't get past it. That was odd. What could Fang be hiding?

She decided to tell Max with her mind. Max was sitting across the room, and she read her thoughts before talking to her. Wait- what was that? It was… a block. Just like Fang's.

What was going on?

_Iggy_, she thought frantically. _Iggy, there's something wrong with Max and Fang's minds. They're blocking me from something. Everything else is normal, but it's just this one thing… something's up._

_**Angel, are you sure? Maybe they're just going to prank us or something.**_

_I don't know… Maybe._

_**Just keep a close watch on their thoughts, okay? And if you hear 'hot sauce', don't accept any food from them for the next couple days.**_

_All right._

Angel sat on the floor and let Nudge babble to her, tuning it out and listening to Max and Fang's thoughts. Everything sounded the same as usual… but at the same time, she could sense that something was very, very wrong.

**A COUPLE DAYS LATER, WHILE ANGEL IS STILL SUSPICIOUS BUT EVERYTHING IS GOING AS USUAL IN THE FLOCK….**

MaxPOV

For the first time in days, I awoke feeling slightly _normal_. No pain… no sickness… no incessant buzzing in my ears. (Yes, that happened- don't ask.)

Where am I and what did they do to the School?

I opened my eyes and tried to sit up- whoa, I could. _That's_ new. There was only two whitecoats in the room… Hmm. My brain immediately starting running through an escape plan- knock them out, run out the door? No... that leads into the hall. I looked around for other possible exits, and a whitecoat noticed. "Don't even think about it," he said, looking back down at his clipboard. "If you try to escape, we'll just shock you. Take a look at your ankle." I looked down, and big surprise, there was a little tech-y looking cuff around it. I decided not to test it out.

Suddenly, another whitecoat walked in and noticed that I was awake. "Good," he said. "Subject one is awake. We can move her."

_MOVE ME WHERE? ANOTHER TORTURE CHAMBER?_

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What, had enough of being a sadist for now? Or are we going to the dissecting room?"

He shook his head. "We have to prep this room for subject two. You're done for a while, though." Fang. I guess he hadn't been tested on yet. But thank _god_ they were done with me. "Get up- we need to put you in your cell. _(What, no dog crate?)_ Try anything, and you get fried."

I unwillingly stood up, and felt a sudden whoosh of air on my back. Oops, I'd forgotten I was in a freaking hospital gown. Damn, they had my favorite pair of jeans. The non-Nudge approved ones, which was good enough for me. I gathered the open sides of the gown together and followed the whitecoat unsteadily out the door. I realized that I hadn't walked in days.

We didn't have to go very far at all- in fact, my cell was apparently right next door… wait a second.

Oh my bacon- this was the same cell that Fang was in. Unless they'd moved him. I didn't wait to find out.

I rushed inside- it was dimly lit, but there was enough light for me to see a dark mass huddled in the corner.

Was it him?

The door shut behind me, and I knelt beside it. "Fang," I whispered. "Fang, is that you?"

It lifted its head and looked at me. No. This couldn't be Fang… there was no way.

But it was.

Fang was barely recognizable under the myriad of bruises and cuts- I only knew it was him because of the eyes. They looked hollow, flat- but they were still the unmistakable black that I knew. "Max?" he whispered, his voice cracking.

"Wha- what happened?" I said, hearing my voice tremble a little. No! My voice doesn't tremble! But at the same time, I could hear it doing so. Traitor.

"Don't remember," he groaned. "I think- I think I wouldn't shut up, so they sent in some goons to make me…" he tried to sit up and gasped involuntarily.

"What is it?" I asked worriedly. He just shook his head and wrapped his arm around his chest. Was that… blood? "Fang, take off your shirt," I commanded.

"It's nothing."

"Fang. Now."

"No, Max, don't-"

But it was too late. I ripped it off over his head, not caring about whether it was ripping or not. And then I gasped in shock. His right shoulder, arm and pretty much the entire right half of his torso was black, blue, and bloody. "Is this from when you were trying to break out?" I said shakily.

He nodded and leaned his head back against the wall. "But I think part of it was when those idiots were kicking me around."

I pressed lightly- like, really lightly- on his ribcage and there was a sharp intake of breath from him. I looked up. "Broken rib, maybe two," he managed. So this was what the whitecoats meant when they said breaking his bones….

"God, Fang, you didn't have to save me, really. Not if this is what happens…" I gestured to his banged-up chest and arm.

He glared at me. "You don't know what it was like," he said hotly. "If that was me in there, you'd do the same. Except I wouldn't be screaming." He smirked, satisfied.

I sent Glare of Doom right back at him. "Right. You're just too manly to scream. I'd like to see YOU get injected with that stuff and not yell at the top of your lungs. And I wouldn't do the same, because I'm not stupid and I know _there's no way out!_"

His mouth fell open slightly at that, and I realized that I'd just voiced both of our worst fears.

_There's no way out._

Would we ever see the flock again? My mom? Ella?

Would we die here?

My thoughts were interrupted my the door cracking open. A whitecoat peered in. "Subject two, come with us now," he said boredly, walking inside.

I clenched my fists. "_Look at him!_" I hissed furiously. "Can't you see how badly he's hurt? Can you even run your sick tests on him when he's like this? _AND WE'RE NOT SUBJECTS! WE HAVE NAMES!_"

The whitecoat looked taken aback at my outburst, but then he collected himself. "Yes, we can," he said, sneering at me. "It's not our fault he's injured. Mostly. If he's not dead, or even if he is, we can still use him. Now get up!"

Fang struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth as he pulled his shirt back over his head. He took a hesitant step forward, and almost fell over, but I reached out and grabbed his left arm. He balanced himself, and his eyes flickered towards the whitecoat. Fang looked back at me and, with difficulty, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "We'll make it out of here, Max," he whispered. "I promise." He kissed my forehead and staggered out the door, taking a last look back at my tear-streaked face. Yeah, I was crying. Wouldn't you if you were watching the love of your life walk away from you, not sure where he's going, knowing that he's going to be hurt, and there's nothing you can do about it?

Wouldn't you if you didn't know if you'd ever see him again?

**So… sad chapter... I have nothing else to say... bye.**

**WAIT NO**

**Yesterday I was writing a possible future fic on my iPod and i was typing 'Fang slipped out of his room and down the hall' but i accidentally put 'skipped'... FATAL MISTAKE.**

**-Sierra**


	9. NOT AN UPDATE BUT READ IT

NOT AN UPDATE.

OH GOD guys, I can't write. The writer's block is MADDENING. I've tried everything- I even pulled out the big guns and put bacon bits in my ice cream. WHICH WAS FRIKKIN DELICIOUS! Thanks for the idea, PhoenixFanatic. But it didn't help. Every time I get an idea, it just SLIPS AWAY. I'm trying, guys, really. I am. As soon as I can write something, anything, I'll post it. I promise.

Again, so sorry!

-Sierra


	10. Hell To The Freaking NO

**I AM _BACK._ AND HERE'S YOUR FREAKIN' CHAPTER AFTER- WHAT WAS IT, SIX, SEVEN?- DAYS.**

**It's longer than usual to make up for the delay. Oh, and hey, when I was writing in my crazed creative juice flowy ex-writer's block state I had an idea for a new fic. It's no wings and I'm calling it Scars, I already have a few chapters written but I don't know if I should post it or not, because idk if I can handle two fics at the same time… but if you guys GROVEL ON THE FLOOR WITH OFFERINGS OF BACON I will. Promise.**

AngelPOV

_Iggy, they're still acting strange, and it's been a week_, I said to him in his head.

_**Yeah, I agree. Okay, ask the flock mentally if they've noticed, and then report back to me.**_ Wow, he was acting like a leader. If Max had known, she would've been proud. UNLESS SHE'S GONE INSANE.

_Nudge? Have you noticed that Max and Fang have both been a bit… off lately?_

_ZOMG hey Angel! Yeah I have noticed that they've been acting weird, just like Iggy does when you give him too much sugar, except he just goes crazy, like a little rabid chipmunk! Oh, chipmunks are sooo cu-_ I tuned out her thoughts and turned my thoughts to Gazzy. Literally.

_Hey Gaz?_

**_Yeah, Angel? Wait a sec, can I ask you something? Do you see how Max and Fang are being really weird? Like not when they're being all mushy and gross and stuff, but just… w_**eird?

_Yeah, I have. And… never mind._

_**Okay. Bye!**_

_Iggy? They've definitely noticed_.

**_Okay. We should confront them… or maybe I should, just me. You, Nudge, and Gazzy wait outside- listen closely to their thoughts, and if you hear ANYTHING suspicious, come straight through the door. Got it?_**

_Yeah, I'll let Nudge and Gazzy know._ I did, and they came down the stairs, acting nonchalant and getting drinks of water and things as an excuse to stay downstairs.

"Hey Max? Fang? Can I talk to you guys in here for a second?" called Iggy. He walked into his room and let them in, shutting the door behind him. Gazzy, Nudge, and I stood outside the door and strained to hear what they were saying.

"You guys have been acting strange lately. Is everything okay?" (Iggy)

"Yeah, Igs, why do you ask?" (Max)

"I don't know… you haven't been the same. Almost like you're not yourselves." (Iggy... again...)

Max gave a nervous laugh. "Uh, what do you mean?"

And suddenly, a flood of incoherent thoughts hit me as their mind blocks broke down.

_A trick tricked them clones Itex impostor all a trick_

_Fell for it captured real experiments clones clones clones_

My eyes widened and I gave Nudge and Gazzy the signal. Gazzy opened the door and lunged at the fake Fang. Nudge and I tackled Max, and hearing us, Iggy smiled triumphantly. "What is it, Angel?"

"They're clones," I panted. "Itex captured the real Max and Fang."

Suddenly, Dr M rushed in. "What is going on here?" she exclaimed.

"Um, Max and Fang aren't," said Gazzy quickly. The clones struggled under our grips. "Clones." Dr M looked shocked, and took a seat.

"Where are the real Max and Fang?" asked Iggy, kicking Fang's clone. Hey, he deserved it. But how Iggy has such good aim, I don't know…

"Don't you already know that?" snarled Max III… or whatever number she was. "You're dumber than they taught us." Nudge bent her arm further behind her back, and the clone hissed.

Suddenly, realization hit me.

Oh, crap.

"Iggy, she's right. We do know where they are. The School," I said quietly. "One of them." Fear spread across Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, and Dr M's faces.

"That's right, and you'll never know which one it is," said Fake Max evilly.

"Yes we will, because we'll make you tell us," hissed Gazzy.

Fang's clone grinned. "They whitecoats prepared us for what would happen if you found out. Goodbye, Flock." And out of the blue, he and the other clone started to cough- and there was blood. Spots of the red substance started seeping through their shirts- _wait,_ I remember this… back in New York, the Erasers, years ago when I was only six. Amazingly enough, the only time I'd seen this.

The whitecoats just gave them their expiration dates. And they were taking effect right before us.

When they stopped breathing, we stepped back from their bodies. Except for me- I flipped back their hair and sure enough, there was a black tattoo on their necks with today's date.

There was silence, until Iggy pinched the bridge of his nose like he had a headache, and said, "Will someone _PLEASE_ tell me what just happened?"

"Their expiration dates," I said softly. "The whitecoats just gave them to the clones. Just now. And they died _instantly_."

"You know what this means, don't you?" spoke up Dr Martinez. "Any day now, you could get yours. And then…"

We looked at each other with fear once more in our expressions.

And then, no more Flock.

Ever.

MaxPOV

_As soon as I looked around me, I knew I was dreaming._

_Because for one, I knew my body was in the School, and my dream self was in a hospital._

_Secondly, the Flock, my mom, and Ella were here._

_And thirdly?_

_I was dead._

_My ghost-body-thing that I was in wasn't dead- but I was looking at my dead body from the outside. My body was surrounded by the Flock, and Ella and my mom were standing off to the side, crying. I moved in to get a closer look at the Flock's faces… and gasped._

_Fang, Fang the Emotionless, Fang the too-manly-to-ever-show-sadness, Fang the Brick Wall, was crying._

_Silently, though. He was holding my cold, limp hand, the tears slipping down his face. The flock didn't even notice, or they didn't care. Nudge was hugging Angel, and they were both sobbing. Iggy's knuckles were white, and he was crying silently, like Fang. And oh, Gazzy. My little trooper. His shoulders were shaking, but his eyes were dry. He was always so strong, for me._

_And then I felt ANGRY. Who had done this to me? To my flock? To my family?_

Suddenly, Fang whispered something. I leaned in to hear it- they couldn't see me, and apparently, I could pass through things, like a ghost. "Max," he whispered sadly. "Why? Why didn't you stay? I was here, the whole time. You just wouldn't open your EYES_… OPEN YOUR EYES, MAX, PLEASE!"_

_What?_

_Was he saying that I… that I did this?_

_I didn't have time to think it over, because then pictures flashed before my eyes._

_Fang- WHAT THE HELL? Stupid suicidal boy, about to freaking kill himself-_

_Nudge, alone in a cave, starved so badly I could see her ribs through her torn shirt, face gaunt-_

_Iggy, alone too, and he was insane, literally-_

_Gazzy, trying to fight off Flyboys, but he was too weak, and then they closed in on him-_

_And lastly, Angel. Oh, my little baby, not so little anymore, in a dog crate at the School- but her body was limp, and the whitecoats were shaking their heads at the loss of a perfectly good experiment._

And then I woke, sobs racking my body, tears running down my face. Great, now I cried in my sleep. But that dream- no, nightmare- had terrified me. What did it _mean_?

I was suddenly aware that I was curled up against something warm, and slightly soft, but firm. And that something was shushing me and stroking my hair.

I jumped back, surprised. "Oh god, Fang, when did you get here? I'm so sorry, I must have been crushing your ribs -"

"Max!" he said, cutting me off. "It's… fine, actually. I think." He pulled up his shirt a little- now we were both in the white of the School- and I gasped. Was that gonna become a routine?

Anyway… Every bruise was gone. Every cut. Fang pressed down on his ribcage, hard, and he didn't even flinch. But- it's only been a _day_. Even _we_ don't heal that fast. He caught my expression and said, "Yeah, it confused me too- they said that they tested some healing thing on me, like… _Dylan_… had. But I really, really don't trust it. At all."

I nodded, noticing how he hated to say Dylan's name… bad, _bad_ memories. But he was right not to trust it- them- I mean, it's the _School_. But for now, he seemed okay, so I didn't care.

And then a shadow passed across Fang's face. "Max, what were you dreaming about that made you… _cry_? Don't lie to me- I'll know."

I took a deep breath and then curled up on his chest again, avoiding his face. "It was just a dream," I said. "But I was… dead. And you were… the Flock was… crying, and then I saw flashes of-" my voice turned traitor on me, choking up a little, remembering what I'd seen.

"Flashes of _what,_ Max?" Fang said, his voice quiet and dangerous.

"Well… the Flock went sort of… they fell apart," I mumbled lamely. "Including you."

"What was I doing?"

"You were going to… off yourself." I felt him tense behind me, and he drew me closer to him, his arms tight around me.

"It's okay, Max, it was just a dream. Only a dream," he said reassuringly. I nodded. He was right- it was only a dream.

But if so, why didn't I believe myself?

* * *

><p><strong>And later that day... 'n stuff… still MaxPOV…<strong>

Suddenly, the doorknob rattled a little, and three whitecoats walked in- except one was wearing an expensive-looking business suit. He must be someone important… Oh, I _hope_ it doesn't get _dirty_. That would be _such_ a _shame._ Detect the sarcasm here? I looked down at the grime on Fang's and my clothing. I wonder what would happen if I tackled this guy…

"Subjects one, two? We must speak," said one of the whitecoats.

"Sorry, we respond to our _names_. It's Max and Fang. You want a discussion, you call us by _those_, or_ you're out of luck_." To say the least, my voice was scary as hell.

"Okay, then- Max… Fang… I am a very important man in Itex. (TOLD YOU SO!) **(By the way... he won't have a name… yet. I think)** They sent me here to speak to you, because I know you are some of the more- ahem- intelligent experiments, and maybe I could get through to you. And I won't beat around the bush."

"Well, what is it?" I snapped.

"We want you to reproduce. The first child of avian-human hybrids would be a great accomplishment for us," said Suit Guy, looking at me expectantly.

I looked at Fang's- dare I say it- shocked face, and then I lost it. I just busted up laughing, rolling around on the floor. Fang looked at me like I'd finally cracked. But they expected us to willingly give them our baby? If we had one? No way was I going to do that- they'd just experiment the hell out of it and probably kill it before it turned one. No _freaking_ way. And besides, a mom at seventeen? Pass.

I finally collected myself enough to talk, wiping the tears from my eyes. "You think we'd actually willingly do that for you? Give you _our child?_ The crazy, evil _bastards_ who made us freaks of nature and _tortured_ us for practically our whole lives? _Hell no._"

Fang was still looking at me warily, but he nodded in agreement with me. "Very well then," sighed Evil Suit Man. "We could make you, but we prefer experiments that comply- and believe me, we have many hybrids like you- just nto as successful. But they will do. And as for you two? You will be retired in three days." And with that, they left the room.

"Well, shit," I said slowly, turning to Fang. "That really _sucks_."

"Understatement of the century," he muttered.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "That was when Iggy said that Nudge talks way too much."

Fang actually cracked a smile. A_ real _one. "What was that for?" I asked, a little amazed.

"Well, if we're going to die in three days, might as well make the most of it," he stated, shrugging.

"Does that mean you'll speak in full sentences all the time?" I asked mock hopefully. I like quiet Fang better.

"Maybe," he said, flashing another smile at me. Ha. He used one word.

"I guess that's a no," I said, sighing.

But I knew what this was about- we were joking around to hide the fear we both knew was there; we didn't know of any way out of this damn place. I thought back to a few days ago when everyone but Fang and I left to go shopping- I couldn't recall what my last words to them were. Something about not torturing Iggy and Gazzy too much… I wonder how that went. Did the boys blow up the mall or something? Did Nudge max my mom's credit card again? Or maybe she used the bottomless pit Max Card… I felt sad as I realized that I might never know. Probably not.

Fang felt me tense, and rubbed in circle on my back between my wings. I pretended to relax for his benefit, but on the inside? I was ready to snap, I was so stressed.

What if we really never made it out of here?

**Whoop whoop, over 2,350 words. More than usual for me... I wrote this to Green Day... they're awesome... So remember what I said 'bout groveling and bacon... wink wink. bye... REVIEW MY MINIONS! I mean readers... aha... hahaha... bye.**

**-Sierra**

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	11. Fire

**Okay, you guys groveled, and you did it pretty damn well. Thank you to my grovelers: iLuVtOwRiTe1998, Trapped In Narnia, pancakes-for-you, and Obeudan! You guys are awesome! **

**And Dark-Angel6212, I would like to say again, that was THE MOST BACONTASTIC review, ever. Other reviewers, take a hint from her! **

**Also, this story is coming to a close. It was short, so short, I know, but I'm kind of sick of it, and I want to concentrate on the other fics I'll be posting. But I am going to give you a grand-freaking-finale when the time comes. So don't be mad. Please.**

**P.S. LOTS OF EGGY HERE! Also, I read Angel yesterday and threw it at the freaking wall. Way to be, JP. **

IggyPOV

'Well, how do we find them _now_?" I growled, frustrated. The clones just _died_ on us, and we had no way of knowing where Max and Fang were, or if they were even _alive_. It had been almost seventeen hours since that happened, but none of us had slept but Ella, and I think Dr M drifted off a little too a while ago. But honestly, we all looked like shit, with bags under our eyes, faces pale, hair messy and tangled.

"Iggy, you've asked that question a million times. None of us had the answer then_,_ and we don't now," said Nudge tiredly. She was talking in much shorter sentences now, and had lost her usual cheer.

_Why isn't there anything we can DO?_ I thought to myself. I can't even say "we've tried everything," because _there's nothing to try._ Well, there was one thing- we searched the clones' bodies (well, the Flock did, but since I'm_ blind_…), but we didn't find anything. Nothing at all.

"It's okay, Iggy," murmured Angel. "We'll find them."

Okay, there goes my temper. I turned to where I'd heard her voice and shouted angrily, "No, it's _not!_ We have _no idea_ where they are, and _no idea_ how to find out, or if they're even _alive!_ IT'S_ NOT_ OKAY!" I stormed out of the room and into mine, slamming the door. We'd moved the clones' bodies out of there and into Fang's room. He's gone, so it's not like he can object.

And speaking of Fang, Fang is as important as Max to us- Max is our leader, but without him, Max can't cope. We need him just as badly. We're falling apart without them, and it hasn't even been a goddamn _day._

We need a leader.

_Angel, don't even think about it, if you're listening_.

I guess she wasn't, because she didn't reply. Or she could just be still mad that I yelled at her.

See? If Max were here, she would've made us sort it out, right then. It's that or an ass-kicking. But now I'd just sit here and be angry…

And suddenly, I realized that I couldn't do this without my family. All of them. But I'd have to make do with what I have now- I couldn't let my anger and frustration show, not like I just let it. I heaved a sigh and got up off my bed, walking back into the living room.

"Guys, I... I'm sorry," I apologized quietly. "I'm just frustrated."

"It's okay, Igs," said Nudge softly. "We all are."

"Yeah," chimed Gazzy and Angel. Dr M and Ella agreed quietly. I turned to face I hoped was the Flock- but I guess I was wrong, because Gazzy said, "Iggy? That's the wall. We're over here." Embarrassed, I turned again and cleared my throat.

"Right. Anyway, I was thinking, and you know how you guys searched the clones, but I didn't because of…" I said, gesturing to my eyes. "Well, since I have such sensitive touch, maybe you guys missed something that I wouldn't." I knew my tone was hopeful, almost desperate, but honestly, it was all we had.

"I guess that makes sense," said Dr M slowly. "It could work. Let's try it." The Flock agreed... I could almost hear notes of pleading in her tone. She was begging for it to work. We all were, I knew.

We traipsed up the stairs into Fang's room, and Ella gently guided me to kneel beside the Max clone's cold body. I nodded, silently thanking her, and my hands started to flutter over the corpse.

I pressed harder where there was clothing, feeling for a depression, a bump, any clue, anything. But so far, there was nothing- all I felt was her smooth skin. But when I got to the back of the clone's neck, and I felt the black of her expiration date, there was a fewever-so-slight rises in the skin just below where her hair ended. My heart pounded faster as I realized what they were.

"Somebody get some paper and a pen. Write this down," I said, my voice strained. I heard a rustle, and Dr M gave me the okay. "Two… zero… one… nine… four… two…. two… three." I felt for numbers on the back of Fang's neck, and sure enough, the same ones were there.

"But it just looks like a bunch of numbers in a random order," said Dr Martinez, puzzled. "It doesn't make sense."

Suddenly, my head snapped up. "Wait a second- we never even told Jeb about the clones. We should call him, _right now_. What if he knows something about the numbers- he used to work for Itex."

I heard a gasp. "How could we forget to tell _Jeb_?" said Dr M. "I'll call him right away." I heard her walk out of the room.

"I can answer that," sniggered Gazzy. "Max has trained us well." I laughed a little, for the first time in a while.

Half an hour later, I was pacing back and forth in the living room as we waited for Jeb to get here already. Why did we have to live so far out in the desert? It took _forever_ to get here!

"Calm down, Iggy," soothed Ella. "He'll be here s-" She was cut off as the door opened, and hot desert air came in, along with the sound heavy footsteps.

"I got here as fast as I could," said Jeb tiredly. Angel sent me a mental image of him- sweating a little, hair messed up by the wind, and shoulders sagging.

I thrust the piece of paper I'd been clutching tightly at him. "Do you know what it means?" I demanded. Yeah, I don't beat around the bush when my family's lives are at stake.

I tapped my foot as he read it. Or at least, he had better be reading it. "No, I don't recogni… Wait. Oh no. Oh, that is _not_ good," he breathed. "Where exactly did you find these numbers?"

"On the back of their necks, just above their expiration dates," I said, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Because, just after the flock was created, Schools everywhere started putting codes on that exact spot on the experiments, codes that stood for which School they were created at," he said slowly. "And this code- this code stands for the most advanced School in the Americas. The School In Death Valley, Nevada, where you were created. And if I'm right, Max and Fang are being held at that very place."

"Holy crap," I muttered. "Well, it looks like we're going back home, kids."

My statement was met with shocked silence- and I didn't blame them. Not one bit.

* * *

><p>"Ella, please stay," I begged her. We were setting off for Nevada- by car. I didn't like it at all, but Dr M and Jeb insisted upon going with us, and since they didn't exactly have <em>wings<em>…

"No way, Iggy. I am going- that's my sister, and I_ will not_ lose her again," she said firmly. We were standing outside the house alone while the flock loaded the car with supplies, like medical supplies, bombs, and food.

"But you might get hurt," I blustered. "I couldn't stand it if- if anything happened to you."

"Ig," she said calmly. "My mom, Jeb, and I are going to stay in the car, a few hundred yards away from the School. Angel's going to keep us posted on what's happening. I. Will. Be. Fine." I sighed in exasperation, and she took my hand in hers. "But it's sweet of you to be worried." I half-smiled a little, and suddenly, a picture of her smiling face appeared in my head. Angel. I thanked her with my thoughts.

"You look… beautiful," I said softly, accepting that I wasn't going to change her mind. I tapped my head. "Angel showed me." I got another image of her, blushing.

"But my hair's messed up, and I'm not even wearing makeup, and-" I silenced her with a finger to her lips, secretly thanking whoever's up there that I didn't accidentally pick her nose or stick it in her mouth.

"You_ always_ look beautiful," I said gently. "Now come on, let's go help the Flock." We walked back to them, our hands still intertwined- and if Max and Fang had been here, and part of my family wasn't in danger or heck, already _dead_, I couldn't have been happier.

**8.49 HOURS LATER… (I Googled the distance...)**

"Iggy, wake up, Jeb thinks we're here," whispered Gazzy, shaking me awake. Dammit, I fell asleep? That wasn't supposed to happen!

"It's okay, you needed it," murmured Angel.

"Okay, so when do we move out?" I said, ignoring Angel's last comment.

"Well… we don't exactly… have a plan," said Nudge uncomfortably. "Max always sort of told us the plan, and now she's not exactly here."

Oh. Yeah. That. "Well, you're right- she isn't here, so we have to do our best to make one," I said. "Ideas? We need anything we can get."

There was silence for a minute, until Gazzy said slowly, "Well, you know those smoke bombs we brought with us? The overpowered ones where you can't see anything in the smoke?" I nodded, not sure what he was getting at. "If we were way up high, and we threw them down onto the area around the School, they wouldn't be able to see us coming."

"That's brilliant, Gaz!" I exclaimed. "But wait… how are we going to know where the School_ is?_ Didn't you say that there would be an illusion concealing it, Jeb?"

"Yes, but Angel, Nudge, and Gazzy will be able to see a slight shimmer in the air, like a mirage," he explained. "And you might be able to hear sounds that don't belong in the desert coming from the School, with your sensitive ears. Also, Angel can hear the thoughts of the people inside, remember? She could pick out some sort of a blueprint of the building, or a mental image. She might even be able to find out where Max and Fang are in the building."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess. And if we do find out where they are, we can blow up the rest of it, and get them out."

"I don't know if I'd advise that- the flames will spread very quickly, and may even be enhanced by chemicals in the labs. But if you can reach them before that…" his voice trailed off.

"All right- let's move out," I said. Everyone stepped out of the car, even Dr M, Ella, and Jeb. I cleared my throat. "Well, if we don't make It out of this… and _don't_ say anything, because there's always a chance we won't. So…" Angel figured out what I was going to do and flashed me a quick mental image of the scene. I walked up to Jeb and shook his hand- I didn't exactly feel close enough to him to hug him, not after everything. Not after he'd left us. I hugged Dr M quickly, and the flock did the same. "You've been like a mother to us all," I said quietly. There was no way I was gonna choke up- not now. But Dr M did, just a little, and she hugged me back tightly, saying nothing.

I turned to Ella, hearing the flock look away discreetly. "Ella," I whispered, holding her to my chest, feeling the tears running down her face. "I've wanted to do this for a long, long time." And then I leaned down and kissed her on the mouth.

She responded enthusiastically; it was our first kiss together, but hey- would I see her again? I didn't know. Suddenly, I heard a throat clear- Ella's mom. Yeah, I _bet_ she doesn't like seeing her daughter get kissed…

I slipped away from Ella as I soared into the sky where my family was waiting. _HA!_ I'd never kissed Ella before, and it didn't take me three times to get her to kiss me back, like when Fang kissed Max. If he was alive, when I saw him, I'd be sure to rub that in his face…

**ABOUT FIVE MINUTES LATER…**

"There!" I'm picking up faint thoughts- faint, but they're there!" exclaimed Angel.

"Yeah, and I see that little mirage-thingy that Jeb told us about!" cried Nudge. I could hear hope in her voice- poor kid, if Max and Fang aren't… you know… she'd be hit the hardest.

"Gaz, you got the bombs?" I asked him.

"Right here," he said. I could imagine him grinning maniacally.

"Okay- when I say go, drop 'em. Ange, you dive down and go as fast as you can through their minds- when you find out where the door is, tell Gaz and I, and we'll do our part. Nudge- you beat the crap out of anything that comes at us. Got it?" There was a chorus of "hmmm"s and "yeah"s, and I began to count in my head.

"One… two… three… _GO_!" I yelled. I heard the release of bombs, and I swooped into the dark gray smoke with the flock. Seriously, you can almost cup it in your hand, it's so thick.

We landed, and I tensed, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, there was a shout, a shriek, and the pounding of footsteps.

"IGGY! FLYBOYS, FIVE 'O CLOCK!" shouted Nudge. I whirled, and my foot struck hard into its chest. The Flyboy doubled over, and I kicked it in the weak spot, taking it out.

I got a few more Flyboys along with some cuts and bruises, when Angel suddenly yelled, "_GAZZY, IGGY! THE DOOR'S AT EIGHT 'O CLOCK, TAKE FIFTEEN STEPS BACKWARDS!_" I did so, feeling Gazzy next to me, and suddenly, I hit something hard.

"This is it," I said, grinning. I pulled the little bomb out of my pocket and attached it to the base of the building while Gaz fended off the Flyboys coming at us from the curtain of gray smoke.

"Gazzy, RUN!" I yelled. We both did, covering our ears, and stood well back from the entrance. I knew Nudge and Angel were safe- we'd warned them about the explosion. There was suddenly a huge BOOM, and The four of us ran through the mess of Flyboys and smoke to the building- it was burning, and now there was real smoke from a real fire, one that made us cough.

"Iggy, the flames are spreading too quickly! We have to get to Max and Fang, I know where they are now! _Oh my God, they're actually alive_!" shrieked Angel, her voice panicked.

"_Crap! That wasn't supposed to happen!_ Wait, they're _alive_! Holy crap!" I yelled. "But where are they? Never mind! No time! Just lead us there!"

And we started to run frantically through the burning School, occasionally taking out a whitecoat and a few Erasers that got in our way. But the whole time, one thought was running through my mind:

What if we don't get to them in time?

_What if we're already too late?_

MaxPOV

As was jerked from my suckish sleep by a huge BOOM that rattled the building- Fang heard it too and woke.

'Whuzgoinon?" he mumbled sleepily.

"I don't know," I whispered. Suddenly, there was shouts, screaming, and the smell of smoke in the air. "But I don't think it was intentional."

The door flew open all of a sudden, and two whitecoats came in. "Get up and follow us!" they yelled, coughing from the curling gray smoke. I shot Fang a look, and we complied.

I stepped out of the room, and nearly gasped. Smoke was everywhere, and I could see people running around frantically.

As the whitecoats made us run down the hall, suddenly, there was another BOOM, and part of the hallway collapsed, flames licking at the walls. "_Other way!_" the whitecoats shouted. We spun in the other direction and sprinted away from the fire.

And right before we went through another doorway, a huge, burning ceiling beam fell onto the whitecoats, and there was a crunch and they were crushed. Woohoo, freedom.

Fang and I ran in the last direction there was, down a burning hallway. We were sprinting and coughing, and out of the blue there was a sickening crack, and Fang doubled over, yelling in pain and holding his chest.

"What's wrong?" I shouted over the roar of the fire, crashes, and yelling. Suddenly, cuts and bruises appeared on his face out of nowhere, and blood started to seep out of his shirt.

_HOLY SHIT._

The healing thing they tested on him- _it didn't last._

Oh, _perfect_ timing.

Fang!" I screamed when he started to cough up blood. I draped his arm around my shoulders and started to walk, trying to support him as we ran- but now we were stumbling along, the fire closing in on us. "Come one… we have to… we have to... get... out… of…" my voice trailed off as I fell to the ground, barely able to breathe.

I looked at Fang, eyes half shut. His chest had stopped moving.

_He wasn't breathing._

I felt for a pulse weakly… _and there wasn't one._

_Fang was dead_.

And if he was, I wanted to be. I closed my eyes and let the blackness consume me, passing out.

**FIRST THREE PEOPLE TO REVIEW GET TO KNOW IF FANG LIVES OR NOT.**

**Don't worry, I will post VERY soon! VERY SOON, MY MINIONS! Sorry, I'm on a hummus high... haha... hummus... high.. I should really shut up, right now. **

**-Sierra**


	12. Fear Max's Mother, Fang

**I know you're all worried about Fang, but read the chapter… something even worse may happen. Yeah, I know it's almost not physically possible, I mean, the world, losing all those sexy, fictional abs… :P**

**Max: -pops out of nowhere- IF YOU KILL MY FANGLES, I WILL CHEERFULLY RIP YOUR LEGS OF AND BEAT YOU TO DEATH WITH THEM. AND THEN I WILL BRING YOU BACK TO LIFE, CLONE YOU, KILL ALL OF YOUR CLONES IN THE MOST PAINFUL WAY POSSIBLE, AND THEN DANCE ON ALL OF YOUR GRAVES.**

**Me: …Okay… wait... your… Fangles? o.O Wait a second, you're supposed to be unconscious! Get back on the burning floor!**

**Max: Bitch. -passes out-**

IggyPOV

As we fought through the burning building collapsing around us, smoke invading our lungs and making us cough, I shouted, "ANGEL! ARE WE ALMOST THERE?"

"I THINK SO!" she yelled back. "Wait a second… NO! _NO! GET UP_!" She was screaming now, and I heard her run further ahead of us. Gazzy, Nudge, and I ran as fast as we could to catch up with her, and soon, Nudge stopped and put a hand on my chest, signifying that we'd found them.

I heard Angel scream, "IGGY, _HE'S NOT BREATHING! THERE'S NO PULSE!_ GET HIM OUT OF HERE, NOW!" Oh, _shit._ I scooped him up, and I heard Nudge pick Max up as well.

"We need a window!" I yelled at her. She grabbed my hand and led me to one, pushing me through it. I snapped out my wings and soared into the sky.

"Go south, the car's that way!" shouted Nudge over the roar of the fire. "Gazzy and Angel made it out okay!" After a minute of frantic flying, Nudge tugged on my shirt lightly, telling me to land.

"DR M!" I shouted. "_HE'S NOT BREATHING, WHAT DO WE DO?_" Nudge and I landed, Angel and Gazzy close behind, and Max's mom rushed up to us.

I felt her hands flutter over Fang's body lightly and then check for a pulse. Then she turned to Max, most likely doing the same."Get them to a hospital as fast as you can- they'll both die if you don't, and soon! Try to get Fang breathing on the way! Hurry!" She didn't need to tell me twice- I soared upwards, Nudge at my side with Max in her arms. My sense of direction told me that we should go north, and I did, flying as fast as I possibly could.

Suddenly, I felt a weird tingle run through my body, and I shot forward into the air, going so fast that everything was probably a blur- I couldn't tell. Blind, you know. I realized I didn't hear Nudge's labored breathing anymore, and the surrounding felt different than they had a few seconds ago.

And then it hit me.

I had warp drive. **(Don't hate me, I had to or else it would take too long for them to get to a city and it wouldn't make sense for either of them to be alive.)**

I shot back to where Nudge was- I didn't give her an explanation, just yelled, "NUDGE! GRAB ON, TIGHTLY!" and she did, holding tightly onto my leg, as tightly as she could without dropping Max.

I shot forward as fast as I could, going north- I could faintly hear Nudge screaming, and suddenly, I heard a sound. No… it couldn't be. I placed my hand on Fang's chest.

Oh, _hell yes._

_Fang was breathing._

It was shallow and faint, but I could feel the quick beating of his heart- too fast, too irregular for it to be good- but he was alive. For now.

I slowed down as I heard the sounds of a city- I didn't know what city it was, or what it looked like, but hey, we were here. "Nudge, find a hospital!" I yelled hoarsely, circling above the city. She suddenly grabbed my hand and we shot downwards- I didn't fly in warp drive, because we'd crash into the street. But _damn_, she was fast.

NudgePOV

When Iggy and I landed in the street, we were greeted with several screams and yells of "IT'S THE BIRD KIDS!" I ignored it as Ig and I ran in through the hospital doors. I saw the shocked expressions of the nurses and people milling around in general- we made it to the front desk, and I heard Iggy manage, "Help them," before passing out, Fang at his side.

The shocked receptionist just gaped at me. "_Please,_" I begged her. "They'll die." And then I blacked out too.

NoOne'sPOV

Dr Martinez stood in shock as she watched Fang and Nudge fly away with her daughter and Fang. Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder-Ella. She was crying too as she sat beside her, and Dr Martinez wrapped her arms around Ella. Jeb was just standing there, frozen. Gazzy and Angel dame down from the sky, looking worried beyond belief, still coughing, faces smearing with ashes and dirt, clothes blackened and singed.

"They were there, and all of a sudden, they just disappeared," croaked Gazzy. His little sister took his hand in hers.

"Iggy got Max's power, warp drive," she said softly. "My Voice said they gave it to him because Max wasn't supposed to die yet."

Everyone else stared at her in shock, wanting to ask who 'they' were, and if Nudge had been carrying Max why didn't they give it to her, but they stayed silent when Angel gave them no explanation, even though she could hear their thoughts.

"Does anyone have a map?" said Angel, breaking the silence. "I know where they went. I can show you."

Jeb busied himself with getting out a map while everyone else piled into the car. Angel pointed out the city, and they were off at such a speed that they would go to jail for a long, long time if anyone saw them- but none of the five cared.

They were at the city in less than an hour, and Angel told them which hospital it was. They burst in the doors, Gazzy and Angel looking like they'd just been through hell, and they got stares of disapproval. The group marched up to the front desk.

"Have any… unusual… children come in here today?" asked Jeb calmly. But his eyes were worried.

"Sir, I'm not authorized to revea-" began the receptionist, but she stopped when Gazzy and Angel snapped out their dirty wings. There was a few screams from around the room, but they were ignored.

"Um... come with me," she squeaked. They followed her down a few hallways and into an elevator, going up two floors. They stopped in front of a room with a closed door. "Here's two of them… I've sent some people to assist you, they'll be along shortly…" and with that, she walked away.

Cautiously, not making a sound, Jeb, Dr M, Ella, Gazzy, and Angel stepped into the room. Angel and Ella breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Nudge and Iggy, asleep and relatively cleaned up, lying on the beds.

Suddenly, Iggy's eyes snapped open. "Who's there?" he said, tensing and sitting up quickly. Nudge woke up and rubbed her eyes sleepily, and then shrieked.

"YOU GUYS ARE HERE!" she said happily. Iggy relaxed a little, getting the scent of who was in the room. Ella ran over to him and hugged him tightly.

"Hey," he laughed. "I can't breathe." But then he stiffened. "Wait… where are Max and Fang?"

They all looked at each other guiltily. 'We don't know," said Dr M softly. A tear slipped down Nudge's face.

"Are you the… bird children?" said a voice in the doorway. They turned and saw a doctor with brown hair and green eyes. "I'm Dr. Bryan Rivers…"

"Where's the rest of my family?" said Iggy tensely.

"If you're referring to the dark-haired boy and the blonde girl… they're both in the emergency room, having surgery," said the doctor. "I'll take you there, but you can't see them yet." They all nodded- they hadn't expected to be able to. Iggy and Nudge climbed out of their beds and followed the doctor down the hallway along with Jeb, Dr M, Ella, Gazzy, and Angel. Iggy and Nudge had to hold tightly onto the open sides of their hospital gowns- they guessed that their clothes had been taken. It didn't matter- they'd been filthy anyway.

"Take a seat and I'll tell you the news," said Dr Rivers. Obediently, they sat in the chairs lining the wall of the waiting room and looked expectantly up at him.

"The boy has several broken ribs, and his upper right arm was broken, in addition to several major and minor cuts, burns, and bruises," he began. "Several times we almost lost him- he couldn't breathe due to smoke damage. He still needs lots of blood, but his type is different…"

"I'll go," interrupted Iggy. "Take some of mine after you tell us about Max."

"Excellent, that will really help him- he's steady now, but he should be fine after that blood donation. He's going to live." We all breathed a sigh of relief.

"And the girl- Max- she also has bruises, cuts, and burns. She is very frail, and her left foot was broken when something apparently fell on it," he said. "We've been trying to wake her, but she's in a coma, and it's like she doesn't want to wake up. And there's one more thing… I'd like to speak to you two alone." He nodded at Jeb and Dr Martinez, and Angel gasped suddenly. As the three walked out of the room, the flock turned to her.

"What is it, Ange?" asked Iggy quietly. She shook her head fiercely.

"It's nothing, really," she said lamely. The flock shot each other questioning looks, but turned back to their own thoughts.

Out in the hallway, Dr Rivers said to Jeb and Dr M, "I didn't know if you'd want the children to hear this, because none of you seemed to know this yet." Jeb raised an eyebrow, and the doctor continued. "Max is carrying twins, and if she doesn't wake up soon, all of them are going to die."

"I knew this was going to happen," groaned Jeb. "We warned them…"

"When I get my hands on Fang…" said Dr M under her breath.

"Right. Well, it's your choice to tell them or not, of course," said the doctor, a little surprised at their reactions. "When one or both of them gets out of surgery, we will let you know." What he'd left unspoken was _if Max dies._

Ever so slowly, the two shocked adults walked back into the room. The flock looked up at them eagerly, and Iggy folded his arms across his chest. "Tell us what's going on, right now," he growled.

Dr Martinez sat in front of them, running a hand through her hair. _I'm going to be a grandma, kill Fang, bring him back to life, and kill him again,_ she thought. "You guys," she began quietly. "They're not entirely sure if Max is going to live. She won't wake up." There was a few gasps from everyone but Angel- she already knew- and Dr M continued. "And also… if Max survives, she's going to have twins."

Nudge squealed happily. "I'm going to be an aunt!" she said brightly. But then her face fell. "If Max… you know. Wait, does that mean Fang's a dad?" Jeb nodded, answering her question. "Oh, that is just _weird_."

Unreadable emotions crossed Iggy's face, and he stood abruptly. "I need to get a drink," he said, and stalked off angrily.

"Leave him," said Dr M when Gazzy got up to follow him. "He needs to be alone."

They sat quietly for a few minutes until Iggy came back, and then left again without saying a word to give blood for Fang. The silence was awkward and tense- none of them could sleep for fear that something would happen while they were out. So they sat, waiting, for news, good and bad.

* * *

><p>MaxPOV<p>

Where was I? What happened? Everything was black…

And suddenly, everything came rushing back to me. Fang was… dead… and now, I was dying. But I could do just that for all I cared. Fang was my world. Without him, I was nothing. I was still alive... But I couldn't hear, couldn't see, couldn't move. I think I was in a coma.

Come on, Max, just hurry up and die already.

I was pondering my situation in general, like was I still in the School or not, when suddenly, a wave of pain washed over me, dragging me back down into its black depths, and once again, I couldn't think.

FangPOV

When I woke up, I kept my eyes closed, smelling that antisepticky scent that we all knew and hated. I kept my eyes closed, for I heard soft voices around me, and I wondered if I was still in the School. Wait… hadn't it burned down? I remember a fire, screams in the air, and passing out.

Then I noticed that there was something slightly different about this scent... Was I in a hospital? That must mean I'm alive… and Max, I didn't know about.

I snapped my eyes open, annoyed at the whispering. Why wouldn't these people shut up? I was trying to sleep!

"Fang?" said a soft voice. Angel? I sat up, ignoring the pain in my chest and arm, and saw the flock minus Max standing before me, with Ella, Dr M, and Jeb.

"What happened?" I asked groggily. I didn't get an answer; instead, the flock attacked me with light hugs, trying not to hurt me.

"Guys, guys, I missed you too," I assured them. "But could you please get off me?"

They stepped back, grinning, but then their faces fell, and they looked at me strangely. Suddenly, I saw Dr Martinez giving me an Ultimate Glare of Doom. Huh, I guess that's where Max gets it.

"What did I do?" I asked warily.

"I don't know, what did you do?" she snapped. Damn, she looked angry. "I swear, if you weren't so badly hurt, I'd…" Her voice trailed off, but she was still practically shooting _lasers_ at me with her eyes.

"Later, Valencia," cautioned Jeb. What was this about? Suddenly, I realized that I still didn't know where Max was.

"Where's Max?" I said in a low voice. All I got was uncomfortable silence and the flock shooting glances at each other.

'Tell me where she is, right now, or I swear to god, I will not hesitate to maim you all," I growled, a very, very dangerous edge to my voice. I'd never really do that, but I had to know, right now.

"He doesn't deserve to know," hissed Dr M. _WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HER?_ She's always been so nice!

Nudge but her lip. "Max is… sort of… out of it," she said unhappily. Iggy spoke up, and his tone was frosty like Dr M's, but not as absolutely freaking filled with venom.

"She's alive, for now," he began. "But she's in a coma, and if she doesn't wake up soon, then she and _your children_ are going to _die._" He spat that last part out, and my jaw dropped.

"My… _what_?" I said. This was awkward with Gazzy and Angel in here.

"You heard him- your children," said Jeb. He didn't sound angry really, just disappointed- in Max and me. "If Max lives, you're going to be the father of twins."

Honestly, I was completely flabbergasted. **(GOD THAT WORD IS SO WEIRD!)** Me? A… dad? Um. Little much for me to take in… No wonder Iggy and Dr M were so mad. I mean, that's her daughter… and Iggy's like her brother… so…

WAIT A FREAKING SECOND.

"MAX IS GOING TO DIE?" I yelled. "_Let me see her_."

"Fang, you can't exactly get u-"

"LET ME _SEE_ HER!" I shouted, glaring at them all. "I don't care. I can too get up." I swung my legs around the side of the bed and ripped the needle out of my arm, wincing a little at my ribs. I stood. "Where is she?"

"She's not in the ER anymore, they , moved her to her own room to… wait," said Jeb quietly. Dr M and Iggy were refusing to even_ look_ at me.

I nodded. "Let's go."

But as I walked out the door, Angel said something in to me in my head that shocked, and honestly, terrified me.

_**Fang?**_

_Yeah?_

_**Max doesn't want to wake up because she thinks you're dead.**_

I said nothing back, but a cold hand seemed to squeeze around my heart.

If Max died, it would be all my fault.

_All my fault._

Five minutes later, we were walking up to the room that Max was in. I'd been stopped by a couple of nurses, but I'd just glared at them until they back off.

There was a nurse outside the door, and I stood in front of her, the flock, Jeb, Dr M, and Ella behind me. "I need to go in there," I growled at her, shooting her my darkest look.

"You- you can't go in there," she stammered. "You're not a doctor."

"I need to see her," I snarled. Then my tone softened, becoming almost desperate. "You don't understand."

She looked at me with a little bit of pity in her eyes. "And what relation are you to her?" she asked.

"Boyfriend," I said lowly. "Please, let me go in. She's everything to me." I couldn't believe I was saying this to some random person- but it was true, and it looked like it was working.

"Maybe I could allow just one visitor," she said softly. "They won't be happy with me, but I can see that you're telling the truth."

I just nodded a silent thank you and slipped past her and into the room. The doctors in there looked up at me, shocked, and I glared at them. "How did you get in here?" one of them inquired.

"I have my ways," I growled. "But I _need_ to be here. Can I see her?" They shot each other glances, but I knew that the expression on my face was terrifying.

"Go ahead," one of them sighed, and they stepped back form the body. I walked up to the bed.

Max was lying on it, hair spread out of the pillow, light falling on her face from the only light in the room, the one above her bed. The rest of the room was dim and shadowed. Her eyes were closed like she was sleeping, but I knew it was more serious than that. Her heart monitor beeped slowly, too slowly.

I sat and the edge of her bed and took her soft hand in mine. The doctors turned away discreetly as I leaned over her face, and I thanked them in my head.

"Max," I whispered fiercely. "Max, you have to wake up. I'm right here. I'm alive. I. Am. _Alive._ You're being stupid. Even if I was dead, the flock needs you. Our _children_ need you. You can't do this to me, Max, please. Please wake up."

I sat by her side like that, not allowing myself to cry. I could feel my eyes prickling, but I fought it. I don't cry. Not unless she dies.

MaxPOV

I was… back. Back in the state I'd been in before, when I could think, but not move, or hear, or see. Or smell. What had brought me back here, I didn't know. But I knew I was here. And suddenly…

_**Maximum?**_

_Voice?_

_**Yes, it's me. Listen, Max. You have to wake up, right now.**_

_What's the point? Fang's dead._

_**No, he's not.**_

_You're lying. I saw him die._

_**Maximum, you have to believe me. And even if he was, remember the dream I showed you?**_

_That was you?_

_**Yes. Now do you remember? You can't leave the flock, you saw what would happen. They still need you.**_

The flock... the flock… oh, right. My family.

_They'd get on okay without me._

_**No they wouldn't, and you know it. Besides, Fang isn't dead. Trust me, you have to.**_

_I don't have to do anything! And what if you're lying to me?_

_**What if I'm not?**_

_Touché. But you still could be._

_**Maximum, assuming I'm not, you're going to die and leave them all to their fates. What if Fang is alive, and you don't know it?**_

Ugh… it has a point.

_**Besides, think of Angel, your baby, and Nudge, your little fashionista… they need you, Max.**_

I considered this for a moment… and then I made my decision.

_Voice, if you're lying to me, I'll kill you._

_**You can't do that; I'm in your head. But I'm glad you mad the right decision, Max. You'll see that I'm not lying.**_

_Um, right. Well… Goodbye?_

_**For now, Maximum. For now.**_

I started to try to open my eyes, but I couldn't. I struggled against the current pulling me under, sweeping me farther and farther away from life.

_Come on, Max, wake the hell up!_

And suddenly, I broke the surface. My eyes opened.

"Max?"

**You guys didn't actually think iI was gonna kill off Fang, right?**

**REVIEW OR DIE.**

**Max: YOU LET HIM LIVE! but why did you almost kill me?**

**Me: Because you're a stupid bitch.**

**Max: WHAT?**

**Me: KIDDING! -RUNS AWAY SCREAMING-**

**Max: I love my death glare.**

**-Sierra**


	13. Awake

**Guys, I'm gonna cry *sniff* this is the end of my first fanfic.**

**Max: Wimp.**

**Me: I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU. I SHOULD SEND YOU BACK INTO COMA LAND.**

**Max: …Whatever… Fang would hate you…**

**Fang: Yeah…**

**Me: FINE! For Fangles and only Fangles. Now get back in your hospital bed, your foot's broken anyway!**

**Max: I say again,**_** bitch**_**. *climbs back into bed***

**Disclaimer: James Patterson probably doesn't have an awesomesauce cat like I do, and he doesn't even **_**deserve**_** to eat bacon.**

FangPOV

"Max?"

She sat up slowly, looked around her, and then she seemed to notice me. Her eyes widened a little, and she cocked her head, as if deciding whether I was really here or not.

And then she practically tackled me with a hug. "Don't you _ever_ let me think you're dead again," she growled.

"OW, MAX!" I yelled. "Broken ribs, remember?"

"Oh, suck it up," she said, rolling her eyes.

I looked up at the doctors who were just staring at us in amazement. "Looks like she's… awake," one said in a slightly surprised tone. "We'll go inform your family." They filed out the doorway, leaving Max and I alone.

I turned back to Max. "And you," I said in an accusing tone. "You have a flock to take care of, whether I'm dead or not. Don't you even think about it if that ever happens again."

She rolled her eyes again. "Yeah, yeah."

And then, I actually smiled. I really did. Because I just remembered something

"And Max," I whispered into her ear. "You're gonna be a mommy."

"WHAT?" she yelped. "Not possible. No way."

"Very possible," I said, chuckling a little. "Twins, you know."

"Um, that is just _weird,_" she said, unknowingly quoting Nudge, her voice a tiny bit shaky. "Did my mom and Iggy kick your ass yet?"

I grimaced then. "Not yet, but as soon as I'm recovered, I am so going to get it. They're already shooting me Glares of Doom."

She laughed again, and I silenced her by kissing her gently on the mouth. _Max was back._

As we broke apart, the flock, Jeb, Dr M, and Ella walked in, looking around, and then they spotted Max. _"MAX!_" cried Ella, Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel. They ran towards us, and I jumped out of the way just in time not to get crushed. Iggy went over too and gave her a huge bear hug, followed by Dr Martinez.

'Okay, okay, dramatic reunion," said Max from under the pile of people hugging her. "Can you guys get off me now?" I smiled a little- I couldn't help it. They all looked so happy… whoa, except for Dr M and Iggy, who had now stepped back and were alternately glaring at me and Max. I decided to get this over with and went to sit by Max again, crowded this time by Ella, Nudge, and Angel, who were sitting here too.

"Iggy, lay a finger on Fang and the consequences will be dire," Max warned. "But sorry, Fang, I can't stop Mom from doing anything."

I shrugged and put my good arm around her shoulder. Dr Martinez grinned evilly at me… probably making plans for my demise… I'm scared now.

"I know you're mad," I said, staring steadily into Max's mom's slightly terrifying gaze, "but you don't really have to kick my ass, do you? Because you know as well as I do that Max is going to be doing for you and cussing me out over the next eight months." Yeah, I'm not good with those heart-to-heart-deep-emotional-apologies. So… make a joke out of it. Oh god, I'm turning into Iggy.

Max smacked me playfully. "Hey," she said. "That's true, but still! Don't cuss in front of Gaz and Angel!" I rolled my eyes- they're not _that_ innocent.

Dr M considered for a minute, crossing her arms, and then she sighed in defeat. "Okay… but I'm still not happy. Come here, Fang." She held her arms out for a hug, and I approached warily, because for one, it's _Max's mom,_ and two, I'm not a big hugger. But I did anyway- and she hugged me a little bit too hard, hard enough that I almost cringed at the pain in my chest. Probably on purpose… Whatever. Maybe I deserved it.

"Well, Fangy boy, where's my hug?" said Iggy impatiently in a falsetto. God, that sounds creepy.

Wait… how had he known we were hugging? The kid's _blind._

"No hugs for you, just for that," I said. He sighed dramatically.

"I guess I'll have to come and get you," he sang. "Angel, can you help me out here?" The little blonde demon grinned at me evilly as I went all InvisiFang in the corner.

And thus, this disgustingly happy scene ended with Iggy pinning me down and hugging me while I tried to punch him for crushing my ribs, and everyone else laughed at us. Ouch... But hey… I was with my family, and even though (as usual) about half of us were injured and dirty. But we're used to it.

**EPILOGUE. DUN DUN DUN… WAIT, WHAT?**

"FANG. IT'S YOUR GODDAMN TURN."

"No…" I groaned. "I was up last night…"

Max pushed me out of the bed and onto the floor. "Ow!" I said, glaring at her.

She smirked at me. "Go take care of them, then."

I shot her another glare as I walked out the door and down the hall into the twin's room, where they were wailing at the tops of their lungs.

"WILL YOU _PLEASE_ SHUT THEM THE HELL UP?" yelled Iggy from downstairs. Ugh. I didn't deign to give him a reply as I picked up Nicole from her crib in one arm, and Ava from the other. Yeah, we had two beautiful baby girls- ew, I sounded like such a sap. But they were. They were two months old, and they both had my eyes- woohoo, four more mysterious black holes in the world. Ava had Max's hair, and a pair of dark brown wings flecked with white. Nicole had black hair like me, but it was crazy curly, and wings identical to Ava's.

"Shh, or Iggy's going to punch me again for not letting him sleep," I whispered to them. I walked back down the hall to our room- if I wasn't going to sleep, neither was Max.

"Can you please take Ava?" I whisper-shouted to Max. She looked at me groggily, and then held out her arms for her. Ava would not shut up for me, ever. Figures, since she's more like Max than me- hair, personality, and all. Of course, babies can't be sarcastic if they can't_ talk_, but she liked to bite people, **(not saying Max bites people... she's just generally violent)** and man, did she have a pair of lungs on her. Nicole was a little quieter, but could _definitely_ scream when she wanted something.

I sat in the chair by the window with Nicole in my arms and looked out at the trees- we'd moved across the freakin' country after that whole kidnapping incident. Jeb didn't think that Itex'd bother us for a while, since Iggy and Gazzy had burned down the most important School, but since when does Max trust him? So now we were living in New York- the state, not the city. Where, I won't tell you, of course.

"She won't shut up," I complained quietly to Max, rocking Nicole gently.

"Take her outside," Max mumbled, holding a still-bawling Ava. "Just don't let her get too cold." I nodded and just opened the window; we'd made sure they were big enough in this house for us to crawl out of, just in case. I liked it, because I did this a lot for Nicole; she liked the cool night breeze, unlike her sister, who liked warmth. But it was pretty cold here, for October. I sat on the roof and she quieted a little bit, after a while, and clutched tightly at my sleeve as her eyes closed. SUCCESS!

I just kinda sat there for a bit and looked at her; this was _my_ kid. Well, mine and Max's. But god, this girl and her sister had me wrapped around their minuscule fingers from the moment they were born. iggy and Gazzy liked to tease the hell outta me about how I acted around them... All mushy-like...

Psh. I'm expecting Igs and Ella to go elope in Vegas any day now, disappear for nine months, and come back with their own bundle of joy.

I crept back into our room- Max was gone, probably putting Ava back in her crib- wow, I think that's a record for putting them to sleep. Ten minutes. I silently walked into their room and saw Max leaning over Ava, kissing her gently on the forehead, and I almost smiled at the un-Max-like show of gentle affection. I placed Nicole in her crib and then crept up behind Max, who still hadn't noticed that I was here.

"Hey," I whispered, tapping her on the shoulder. She whirled around eyes wide. They narrowed when she saw who it was.

"I thought I expressly ordered you to make noise," she said.

I smirked. "Since when do I take orders from you?"

"Since… _Seventeen freaking years ago._"

"Suuureee."

She rolled her eyes and stood on her toes to kiss me, and I smiled a little against her lips. Fang: One. Max: Probably Over Two Hundred Freaking Thousand.

We broke apart and went back to our room to _finally_ sleep, and were just drifting off when suddenly:

"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Oh, _hell._

**IT'S OVER! -sigh- Should I do a sequel? Let me know what you think. **

**THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED THIS STORY. I ADORE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. You encouraged me to keep writing when I hated the story myself, and didn't complain when I went completely insane in my author's notes. You guys are so _freaking_ bacontastic and don't you _dare_ forget it.**

**-Sierra**


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